Gully erosion in the Pereschiv catchment of Eastern Romania

Spindle-shape in form the Pereschiv catchment is located in the Tutova Rolling Hills, Southern Moldavian Plateau, and covers 23,267 ha. Based on both the aerial photos and field data a number of 847 gullies, stretching on 512 ha (2.20% of the total) have been identified. Of this gullied area, 34.5% (177 ha) is under 737 valley-side gullies, while 65.5% (335 ha) is under 110 valley-bottom gullies. As for 54 representative valley-bottom gullies by comparing their present state with the previous one, derived from topographical maps (based on successive aerial flights from 1960, 1962, 1974, 1977, 1981), it was possible to estimate gullying indicators, such as gully-head advance and areal gully growth. Finally, the gully erosion rate was estimated at 9.8 t ha-1 yr-1 that represents 56% of the total erosion within the study area.