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Updated: Aug 23, 2025

Laboratory and Field Protocol for Estimating Sheet Erosion Rates from Dendrogeomorphology
Published on: January 7, 2019
An experimental investigation of the erosion process and morphological characteristics of the tile-back type slope
Huili Guo1, Liquan Sun1, Shufang Wu1
1Key Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas, Ministry of Education, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China.
Abstract:
Tile-back type slopes comprise ephemeral gullies (EGs) and hillslopes; they are a unique and widely distributed micro-landform in the Loess Plateau region of China. Gully erosion from these landforms is a serious issue, but the micro-landform makes the erosion process and its estimation complex. Quantifying soil erosion processes and their distribution characteristics at different positions on tile-back type slopes will provide a clearer picture for ecological restoration to control further soil degradation. This study investigated the erosion process of tile-back type slope with non-uniform slopes using a 3D photo-reconstruction method during eight successive simulated rainfall events. The results showed that EG erosion began with a chain of intermittent headcuts. When the accumulated rainfall reached 76 mm, serious collapses dramatically increased the amount of sediment by 216% after the first rainfall (cumulative rainfall was about 15 mm). We quantified the sediment contribution of EG erosion (46.20%), rill erosion (35.62%), and inter-rill erosion (18.18%) to total soil loss. The erosion area of the steep slope section and extremely steep slope section accounted for 33.26% and 66.74% of the total erosion area, respectively. Moreover, sediment amounts significantly correlated with morphological parameters, particularly the amount of EG erosion and maximum gully depth, with a correlation coefficient of 0.98. Cumulative gully length and erosion area had the greatest effect on rill erosion, with a correlation coefficient of 0.97. These results provide insight into the qualitative and quantitative understanding of EG erosion process on Loess Plateau of China and an important reference for the rational arrangement of EG control measures.
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