Analysis of some gully control techniques for the conservation of olive cropped landscapes in Southern Spain

The current evolution of climate in Southern Europe, apparently enhances the frequency and persistence of rainless spells, with interspersed short and intense rainfall events. Both circumstances exacerbate the soil erosion episodes, particularly in the olive cropped landscapes, with the consequent risk of soil productivity loss and the dispersion of pollutants. The most common erosion form, gully erosion, act as preferential ways for the removal and dispersal of runoff and sediments.

Although the near-future climate scenarios are uncertain, new and more effective integrated management systems need to adopted to preserve both the food generation potential, and the environment.

The purpose of this work is to analyze some techniques for the assessment of the gully erosion, from the photo-interpretation of the sequence of historical photograms, including Machine Learning methods to avoid the subjectivity of the observer, to the acquisition of new multi-spectral images with UAV. The nest step is the selection of the optimal location of the prevention, such as cover crops and vegetative barriers, and control, like check-dams for the interception of runoff and sediments.

The final outcome of the proposed techniques is the use of the fill-and spill concept to enhance an intermittent connectivity in the gully networks with the additional advantage of the increased biodiversity in the landscapes.