Geoinformation Mapping of the Gully Network (on the Example of the Saratov Region)

Gully erosion is the extreme process of the activity of temporary water flows on slopes, belongs to the category of exogenous natural hazards. An assessment of gully erosion in the area of intensive agriculture in Russia (in the steppe zone) is a topical task. It can be solved by using high resolution remote sensing data and GIS mapping. Geoinformation mapping of gullies and spatial and temporal assessment was carried out within a large region of Russia (Saratov region, 100.2 thousand km² ). The choice of the study area is due to the dominance of steppe landscapes and to the lack of data on modern gully erosion. In this study, visual interpretation of remote sensing data was used to detect gullies and basin approach (704 basins of small rivers) was applied to map the results. The thalwegs of gullies was identified according to the formed system of interpretation signs of gully forms. The vector layer containing 17628 linear objects was created for the study area, and the classification of gullies into types was also carried out. The total length of the gully network in the Saratov region is 1612 km, where the average length of the gullies is 92 m. The majority of gullies (88%) belong to the slope type. More than 80% of the total area of the region is characterized by a weak gully density and the absence of gullies. The maximum values of the length density of gullies (up to 443 m/km² ) are observed in the river basins of the Right Bank of the Volga River in the Saratov region, the minimum (more than 0 to 5 m/km² ) in the Left Bank river basins of the Volga River. The spatial distribution of the gully heads density (the average value is 0.2 number of gully heads/km² , the maximum is 5.2 number of gully heads/km² ) corresponds to the distribution of the gully length density. The connection is determined between the indicators of the gully density and the average steepness of the slopes in the river basins by the method of correlation analysis. The peculiarity of the erosion network of the Saratov region are narrow and long gullies in Cretaceous sediments, having slopes without vegetation, but being in a “preserved” state without signs of active growth. The direct connection between the pasture area and the gully density is fixed due to the wide areas between gullies occupied by the grass land. Areas with extremely high erosion and the development of “badlands” have been identified in the Saratov region. They are located within the Volga upland and are developed on Cretaceous deposits with high slope steepness and low forest cover.

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