5. Conclusion
The SegNet model was used to recognize ephemeral gullies and extract
their morphological features at a watershed scale from 2009 to 2021 to
analyze temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of ephemeral
gullies in the hilly and gully region of the Loess Plateau. This study
showed that ephemeral gullies are mainly located in the southern part of
the watershed, where there are complex landforms and steep slopes. The
increase in ephemeral gully number, length, width, total area,
frequency, density, dissection degree, and erosion volume was 97
y–1, 1.66 m y–1, 0.04 m
y–1, 4,213.39 m2y–1, 2.87 km2y–1, 0.12 km km–2y–1, 0.0125% y–1, and 22.12
m3 km–2 y–1,
respectively. The regression analysis revealed a power function
relationship between ephemeral gully erosion volume and length:\(V=0.0842L^{1.1932}\ (R^{2}=0.80,\ n=1,594)\). Indeed, The
regression analysis revealed ephemeral gully length can be measured
accurately and easily from high-resolution satellite images. This study
demonstrated that assessing ephemeral gully erosion volume and volume
rate is feasible using a regression model of ephemeral gully erosion
volume and length from historical high-resolution remote sensing images
in the hilly and gully region of the Loess Plateau in China.