Influence of hydrometeorological factors on gully erosion in the Udmurtiya river basins

Abstract

The paper presents the results of long-term (1978-2015) monitoring of gully head retreat in the territory of the Udmurt Republic (UR). The focus is directed on the role of meteorological factors in the development of gullies in the past 17 years (1998 -2015) if it is compared with the previous period of monitoring (1978-1997) and with taking into consideration land use changes at gully catchments. It was found growing influence of rain-storms, which is typical for the eastern and northern parts of UR. For key sites, located in the western part of the study area, it is typical strengthening the role of the depth of freezing soil. The leading role of meteorological factors of spring period, intensity of spring floods and snow-melting remain on most key sites, but their impact on the gully growth decreased significantly, compared with the previous period. In the first time the results of the statistical analysis of the impact of meteorological parameters on the gully head retreat rates for different type of gullies are presented for the 10 key sites.