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Reconstructing rainfall and land-use conditions leading to the development of old gullies

Laboratory for Experimental Geomorphology, K U Leuven, Redingenstraat 16, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; Fund for Scientific Research, Flanders, Belgium tom.vanwalleghem{at}geo.kuleuven.ac.be

J. Poesen

Laboratory for Experimental Geomorphology, K U Leuven, Redingenstraat 16, 3000 Leuven, Belgium

M. Van Den Eeckhaut

Laboratory for Experimental Geomorphology, K U Leuven, Redingenstraat 16, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; Fund for Scientific Research, Flanders, Belgium

J. Nachtergaelel

Laboratory for Experimental Geomorphology, K U Leuven, Redingenstraat 16, 3000 Leuven, Belgium

J. Deckers

Institute for Land and Water Management, K U Leuven, Vital Decosterstraat 102, 3000 Leuven, Belgium

Knowledge of past erosion events and their controlling factors is an important key to understanding the impacts of environmental change (climate-land use) on the landscape. In this study, knowledge about erosion processes on the development of present-day ephemeral gullies is used for reconstructing conditions leading to the formation of old, permanent gullies. Empirical relations between flow hydraulics and channel geometry have been recently established for gullies. Hence, using measured bottom width W_bttom of old gullies as input, peak flow discharges (Q_p) of these gullies can be estimated. In two forested areas in central Belgium, 52 old gullies were mapped. The old gullies had an average W_bottom ranging between 1.1 and 1.5 m. Corresponding calculated Q_p values ranged between 0.04 and 0.07 m³/s. Rainfall intensities (I) were also deduced from Q_p using the rational formula. By simulating various land use scenarios and thus various runoff coefficient (C) values, I and concentration time (T_c) could be calculated for each land-use class. Using I, T_c and intensity-duration-frequency tables for the study area, the recurrence interval (RI) of the rain events, needed to erode the observed gully channels was assessed. Although analysis of historical documents indicates that both areas have probably been under forest since the Middle Ages, it is unlikely that the old gullies originated under forest vegetation or even degraded forest vegetation, since R>I 200 years were obtained for these land-use scenarios. Cropland is the only land use that provides acceptable values of RI(11-128 years).

Key Words: Historical gully erosion • gully width • (peak) flow discharge • rainfall intensity • land use • Belgian loess belt • late Holocene

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