Estimation of Soil Loss Volume Due to Gully Erosion and its Relationship with Soil and Watershed Characteristics in Sharif and Haddam Watersheds of Khuzestan Province

Gully erosion affected by many factors causes the destruction and loss of large volumes of soil along with great economic and social damage. The variability of diversity, the number and size of the influence of different factors from one point to another and the difference of their participation in the formation and expansion of gullies is based on the conditions of the land. Such conditions have caused more researches to be carried out to identify as many factors as possible in the phenomenon of gully erosion and the extent of their participation in the formation and expansion of this phenomenon. In this regard, the present study has been planned with the aim of monitoring and evaluating the effective factors in the development of gullies in the Haddam and Sharif watersheds of Khuzestan province. Modares Shushtar watershed, having Sharif and Hadam subwatersheds, as one of the important and typical basins of the province, every year a large area of its agricultural land is threatened by gully erosion.

In order to carry out this research, first, the parts with gullies in the study area were identified on the topography map with a scale of 1:250,000 during the 20-year period (1993-2012). Then, 15 gullies have been identified and investigated from each climate class of hot-dry desert and hot-semi-arid. Features such as the slope of the initial point of creating a gully and the slope of the front of the gully were calculated by the field method and using a tape measure, level and inclinometer measuring device and the mirage area of the gully front in the Google Earth softwave. Also, the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil of each gully were tested.

The results showed that the average percentage of bare soil above the head cut of selected gullies in Haddam and Sharif watersheds is 99.8% and 97.26%, respectively. Based on soil characteristics, the main cause of soil instability and erosion in gullies in both watersheds is EC. The morphometric characteristics of the gullies showed that in the Haddam watershed, all gullies are V-shaped in terms of cross section, and in the Sharif watershed, only gullies are B12, V-shaped and the rest are U-shaped. The Haddam watershed has the highest depth, width, and top of the gully compared to the Sharif watershed. The total volume of soil loss in Sharif and Haddam watersheds is 23000 and 51579 m3, respectively. Gullies A18 and B1 in Haddam watershed have the highest and lowest soil loss volume, at 11599 and 1612 m3, respectively. In the Sharif watershed, the maximum and minimum soil loss volume of gullies related to gullies A2 and B4 are 5282 and 369 m2, respectively.

Conclusion and Suggestions  :

The most important factors in the volume of soil loss and expansion of gulies are the characteristics of the watershed located upstream of the gully front (such as the extent and slope of the watershed) as well as the fineness of the geological formation (silt) and high soil salinity. Due to the excessive bareness of the soil, increasing the roughness of the soil surface with the establishment of vegetation is one of the compatible and low-cost methods in protecting soil resources. In order to control the spread of gully erosion, it is necessary to increase soil organic matter, modify saline and sodium soils with the use of modifiers, and also divert the runoff from the gully front.