Evolution and Development of Ephemeral Gully Erosion in Hilly and Gully Region of the Loess Plateau in China

Ephemeral gully erosion is a primary mode of soil erosion that is highly visible, affecting soil productivity and restricting land use. Watershed is the basic unit of soil erosion control; existing research has focused on several typical ephemeral gullies or slopes, which do not fully display changes in ephemeral gullies at a watershed scale. This study analyzed the spatial-temporal evolution and development rate of ephemeral gully erosion at the watershed scale on the Loess Plateau from 2009 to 2021 using remote sensing images (0.5 m resolution), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and field investigations. The results revealed that: (1) most ephemeral gullies occurred in southwestern parts of the watershed, with many hills and large slope gradients; (2) average growth rates of each ephemeral gully frequency, length, density, dissection degree, and width were 2.87 km y , 1.66 m y , 0.12 km km y , 0.0125% y , and 0.04 m y , respectively; (3) ephemeral gully erosion volume ( V ) and length ( L ) had a good power function relationship: V = 0 . 0842 L 1 . 1932 ( R 2 = 0 . 80 ) . The root mean square error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R ) between the measured and predicted ephemeral gully volumes suggest that the V–L relationship has a good predictive ability for ephemeral gully volume. Thus, the V–L model was used to evaluate the development rate of ephemeral gully erosion volume in small watersheds from 2009 to 2021, revealing an average value of 743.20 m y . This study proposed a feasible model for assessing ephemeral gully volume and volume changes at a watershed scale using high-resolution remote sensing images, providing a reference for understanding the development of ephemeral gully erosion in small watersheds over time.