Impacts of headcut height on flow energy,sediment yield and surface landform during bank gully erosion processes in the Yuanmou Dry‐hot Valley region,southwest China

To quantify the changes in flow energy, sediment yield and surface landform impacted by headcut height during bank gully erosion, five experimental platforms were constructed with different headcut heights ranging from 25 to 125 cm within an in situ active bank gully head. A series of scouring experiments were conducted under concentrated flow and the changes in flow energy, sediment yield and surface landform were observed. The results showed that great energy consumption occurred at gully head compared to the upstream area and gully bed. The flow energy consumption at gully heads and their contribution rates increased significantly with headcut height. Gully headcuts also contributed more sediment yield than the upstream area. The mean sediment concentrations at the outlet of plots were 2.3 to 7.3 times greater than those at the end of upstream area. Soil loss volume at gully heads and their contribution rates also increased with headcut height significantly. Furthermore, as headcut height increased, the retreat distance of gully heads increased, which was 1.7 to 8.9 times and 1.1 to 3.2 times greater than the incision depth of upstream area and gully beds. Positive correlations were found between energy consumption and soil loss, indicating that energy consumption could be used to estimate soil loss of headcut erosion. Headcut height had a significant impact on flow energy consumption, and thus influenced the changes in sediment yield and landform during the process of gully headcut erosion. Headcut height was one of the important factors for gully erosion control in this region. Further studies are needed to identify the role of headcut height under a wide condition. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.