Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
2 Senior Expert, Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center of Bousher Province, Iran
3 Professor, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran
4 Ph.D Student of Watershed Management, University of Mazandaran, Iran
Abstract
Gully erosion is one of the most destructive types of channeled water erosion that removes a
considerable volume of soil as it develops. This type of erosion consists of complex a geomorphic
process that has been known as an indicator of accelerated soil erosion. In this research the
advancement of 25 headcuts were assessed through digital interpretation of multi-temporal aerial
photos, field observations and GIS data analysis over the two periods of 1967-1995 and 1995-2008.
Moreover, the stepwise regression analysis procedure was applied to extract the effective factors on
gully head advancement (such as topography, physico-chemical soil attributes and morphology of
gully). The results indicated that the mean of gully head advancement over the periods of 1967-1995,
1995-2008 and the mean of two periods were measured 1.36, 1.23 and 1.3 m/y, respectively. Further,
regression analysis revealed that headcut's contribution area, distance of gully-head to ridge, height of
gully head cut and SAR are the main factors on gully head advancement. Therefore, distance to ridge,
headcut high and presence of plunge pool could use as suitable criteria to distinguish the active gullies
in order to prioritizing the conservation activities.
Keywords
)