Does vegetation cover suppose gully erosion stabilization?

Resumen del trabajo presentado al IV International Symposium on Gully Erosion, celebrado en la Universidad Pública de Navarra del 17 al 19 de septiembre de 2007.The present research is addressed to study the evolution of vegetation cover on gully sidewalls and its influence on sediment production due to gully erosion and on gully walls’ stabilization. A sample gully system of the Penedès – Anoia (NE Spain) was selected as study area (Fig. 1). In this region, gully erosion is a problem which affects 23 - 32% of the land. It is part of the Penedès Tertiary Depression, where calcilutites (marls) and, occasionally, sandstones and conglomerates outcrop.This study was undertaken with funding from the Spanish Inter-ministerial Commission for Science and Technology (CICYT), as part of the projects REN2002-00432 and AGL2005-00091/AGR