Description of practice
Gully rehabilitation serves to mitigate gully development or rehabilitate degraded lands. Frequently the aim is to reduce surface water flow velocity and/or protect gully banks and heads through construction of checkdams. While interventions do have on-site effects, they are often undertaken with off-site interests in mind.
| Examples of how to use gully rehabilitation | Further information (see Note below) |
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Check dams from stem cuttingsStem cuttings from trees that have the ability to strike root are used to rehabilitate gullies. These living barriers retard concentrated runoff and fill the gullies gradually with sediment. |
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Gully control by plantation of AtripleGullied slopes are rehabilitated by a plantation of Atriplex halimus fodder shrubs. The treated area is fenced off to facilitate plant growth and diversity. |
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Filling gullies with vegetative structuresBarriers of willow branches and live mulberry cuttings are used to trap loess soil eroded by runoff to reclaim and infill eroded gullies. |
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Gully rehabilitation using gabions and vegetative coverGabions with plantations of spanish drok (Spartium junceum L) are used to stabilize a gully. |
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Gully control through silt fences, erosion blankets and brush packingGullies with active erosion are rehabilitated by re-sloping the banks of the gully to manage the energy of the water entering the system. Bare soil is protected from erosion by covering it with erosion blankets and brush packing. |
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Permeable rock damsPermeable rock dams are built in gullies serve to restore seriously degraded farmland and forest/rangeland. They slow the flow of floodwaters and spread the water over adjacent land. |
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Note: Most of the Further information links are to a full description of the example in the WOCAT database. However sometimes the link may be to similar practices or a research paper. Occasionally the link is to a commercial product in which case it should be understood that this does not imply any endorsement of the product by iSQAPER.