The black soil region in Northeast China is an important commodity grain base. In recent years, with the intensification of agricultural activities, the formation and development of gullies on sloping farmland have accelerated, severely affecting food and ecological security. In order to effectively control regional soil erosion, this study comprehensively utilized historical databases of gullies, remote sensing images, field surveys, spatial analysis, and multivariate statistical techniques to reveal the morphological characteristics, development rates, and main driving factors of 116 gullies in typical agricultural watersheds in the low hills of Northeast China. The results showed that linear gully retreat rate in the study area ranged from 4.3 to 8.4 m y−1, with an average of approximately 6.34 m y−1, between 2011 and 2021. The areal gully retreat rate ranged from 90.7 to 1224.4 m2 y−1, with an average growth rate of approximately 339.17 m2 y−1. Compared with other regions in the world, the development rate of gullies in black soil region of Northeast China is relatively fast, especially in terms of lateral expansion, which is about 7 times greater than longitudinal extension. Gully side-wall retreat (approximately 56.8 m2 y−1) was found to be the dominant factor influencing the change in gully area. Environmental variables explained 60.2 % of the variation in gully morphological characteristics, with natural factors having a greater impact on the linear development of gullies than human factors. However, human factors were closely related to lateral expansion. Due to the large proportion of agricultural landscapes and high spatial homogeneity in the study area, micro-topographic features (such as catchment area and elevation) and the spatial configuration of agricultural landscape patches (patch density and edge density) were identified as the main influencing factors of gully erosion development in study area. Therefore, targeted measures and control strategies should be designed based on a comprehensive assessment of terrain factors and landscape pattern indicators to mitigate gully erosion risks. In the future, based on obtaining more three-dimensional data of gullies, empirical coefficient equations should be constructed using gully area and length as independent variables to predict gully volume. This will help identify the main factors influencing sediment and organic matter loss caused by gully erosion in black soil region, and provide technical support for improving the predictive capabilities of gully erosion risks and developing more rational prevention and control strategies.

中文翻译：

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景观因子对东北丘陵区沟壑退缩及其形态特征的影响


东北黑土区是重要的商品粮食基地。近年来，随着农业活动的集约化，坡耕地沟壑的形成和发展速度加快，严重影响了粮食和生态安全。为有效控制区域性水土流失，本研究综合利用沟壑历史数据库、遥感影像、野外调查、空间分析、多元统计技术，揭示了东北低丘陵典型农业流域116条沟壑的形态特征、发育速率及主要驱动因素。结果表明，2011 年至 2021 年期间，研究区的线性沟壑后退速率在 4.3 至 8.4 m y-1 之间，平均约为 6.34 m y-1。面沟后退速率在 90.7 至 1224.4 m2 y-1 之间，平均增长率约为 339.17 m2 y-1。与世界其他地区相比，东北黑土区沟壑的发育速度相对较快，特别是在横向扩展方面，约为纵向伸展的 7 倍。发现沟壑侧壁后退 （约 56.8 m2 y-1） 是影响沟壑面积变化的主导因素。环境变量解释了 60.2% 的沟壑形态特征变化，自然因素对沟壑线性发展的影响大于人为因素。然而，人为因素与横向扩张密切相关。 由于研究区农业景观比重大、空间同质性高，微地形特征（如集水区和高程）和农业景观斑块的空间配置（斑块密度和边缘密度）被确定为研究区沟壑侵蚀发展的主要影响因素。因此，应在综合评估地形因素和景观格局指标的基础上，设计有针对性的措施和控制策略，以减轻沟壑侵蚀风险。未来，在获取更多沟壑三维数据的基础上，应以沟壑面积和长度为自变量构建经验系数方程，预测沟壑体积。这将有助于识别黑土区沟壑侵蚀导致沉积物和有机质损失的主要因素，为提高沟壑侵蚀风险的预测能力、制定更合理的防控策略提供技术支持。