IDENTIFYING AND ASSESSING PROBLEM AREAS IN SOIL EROSION SURVEYS USING AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS

Abstract

Abstract Gully erosion has for many years been a problem in Rhodesia1s Tribal Trust Lands. This paper describes how Soil Conservation Service staff, with no previous ground knowledge of these areas, used good quality 1/25,000 scale aerial photographs to measure the extent of the gully erosion and to pinpoint erosion “black spots.” This enabled quick and reliable estimates of the cost of reclamation work to be made without the need for time‐consuming field survey. The survey method discussed is capable of wide application wherever gully erosion occurs and needs to be brought under control.