Gully erosion on arable lands in Europe

Abstract

Three large regions of active gully erosion are known in Europe, those are south-eastern, central and southern ones. The main controlling factors are high degree of the land cultivation, a considerable runoff unevenly distributed, and high erodibility of loess and clayey rocks in the regions. Erosion first appears on arable lands, though many cultivated elevations in various parts of Europe lack gullies. That is mostly due to the fact that length and steepness of slopes there are insufficient for linear erosion to initiate. The gully erosion shows zonal pattern which depends on zonal features of drainage density, runoff irregularities and loess distribution.