TITLE:
Urban Gully Development in Southwestern Nigeria
AUTHORS:
Aderemi Adediji, Matthew Olomolatan Ibitoye
KEYWORDS:
Urban Area; Gully Development; Accelerated Erosion; Southwestern Nigeria
JOURNAL NAME:
Positioning,
Vol.4 No.2,
May
22,
2013
ABSTRACT:
This study examined the
development of urban gullies in a part of Southwestern Nigeria. This was done
with a view to determine the volume and amount of sediment loss from the 1st and 2nd order gullies in a cascade system. Twenty (20) towns were randomly
selected from where thirty (30) gully systems comprising forty (40) 1st order and five (5) 2nd order gullies were measured with Tape and
Total Station (TS). The gully dimensions measured include gully lengths,
depths and cross sectional areas. The core samples were also taken from the
study gullies for the determination of the soil bulk density. The results
showed that the mean volume of soil loss from the 1st order and (2nd)
order gullies in the study area are 1612.633 m3 and 1629.922 m3, respectively. The weight
of the estimated sediment loss from the 1st order and 2nd order gullies are 2661.621 and 2657.318 tonnes, respectively. The result
further showed that the total soil loss of 119661.442 tonnes was obtained from
the study gullies and that the 1st order gullies accounted for 87%
(106,375 tonnes)
of the total soil loss. This was an indication of soil degradation in the area.