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Spatial variation of gully development in the loess plateau of China based on the morphological perspective

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Abstract

Gullies characterized by frequent material exchange have profoundly affected the loess landforms evolution in the Loess Plateau of China. Accompanying gully development, various types of gullies have shaped the distinctive loess landforms. Thus, the spatial variations of gully morphology map the regional differences of gully development and loess landforms. Based on 6 key test areas with 5 m resolution DEM and 156 evenly distributed test areas with 25 m resolution DEM, a comprehensive gully-shape index system of topographic feature points, lines, and surfaces was constructed to describe spatial differences of the gully development. After comparing gully-shape indexes in the key test areas, an obvious correlation existed between these indexes and loess landform types. The gully development degree was low in Shenmu and Chunhua, high in Suide, Yanchuan, and Ganquan, while Yijun lay in-between. Using the method of Universal Kriging interpolation, a series of spatial interpolation maps of the gully-shape indexes were obtained, which revealed gully development degree in the whole Loess Plateau. Overall, The active areas of gully development were basically distributed along loess hilly ridges, loess hills, loess ridges, and in a few medium mountain areas, while the inactive areas were basically distributed in the thin loess coverage areas, including plains, river terraces, aeolian dunes, and a few loess platforms. Finally, the gully development regionalization was realized, which contained 6 subzones. These results provided significant references for loess landform research and soil erosion management in the Loess Plateau.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41930102, 41571383, 41771415, 41671389, 41801321).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Chenrui Li, Fayuan Li, Ziyang Dai, Xue Yang & Lanhua Luo

  2. Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Chenrui Li, Fayuan Li, Ziyang Dai, Xue Yang & Lanhua Luo

  3. School of Geography Science, Taiyuan Normal University, Jinzhong, 030619, China

    Chenrui Li & Xujia Cui

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  1. Chenrui Li
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  2. Fayuan Li
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Li, C., Li, F., Dai, Z. et al. Spatial variation of gully development in the loess plateau of China based on the morphological perspective. Earth Sci Inform 13, 1103–1117 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12145-020-00491-4

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