Factors that influence the gully erosion situation in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed the factors controlling gully erosion in Zaria, Kaduna state, Nigeria with the view of ameliorating the consequences of the gully erosion. Satellite imagery Quickbird 2013 1m resolution; 10 years rainfall data; soil samples; and Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) imagery were the data sets used. The study used Geographic Information Science and multi-criteria analysis to analyze the data sets taking into consideration the slope steepness, rainfall, soil texture and land cover of the study area to derive the results. The controlling factors of gully erosion shows that slope (56%) had the highest on gully erosion, followed by rainfall (26%), land cover (12%) and soil with 6% in the study area. The effect of gully erosion in the study area was in the form of loss of lands, houses, economic trees and lives. It is concluded that in some areas, a single factor had an overwhelming effect over others in controlling soil loss among the research sites.

Keywords: Control, Factor, Gully, Erosion, Slope