Hillslope scale effects of cropland abandonment on gully development : an example from Central Italy

This paper is focused on the quantification of the effects of cropland abandonment on gully development and denudation rates for a sample hillslope of Central Italy that underwent cropland abandonment, located within the Tevere River Basin. This goal is pursued by the integration of different erosion monitoring and estimation techniques: the application of DGPS surveys let us estimating the erosion rate since agricultural practices were interrupted (30 years ago) and the traditional erosion monitoring technique with pins was applied during two years in order to validate DGPS survey results and comprehend the dynamics of geomorphic processes affecting the considered denudation hot spot. The investigations proved that cropland abandonment provoked an intensification of erosion rate in the study area, as already observed in other sites of the Mediterranean region. Moreover this work contributes to the comprehension of the applicability of DGPS surveys to compute erosion rates for fairly large time-spans