Gully Density

AUS-AMR-URB-GUL General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

0 m/ha
Direction: Lower is desirable ↓
Form: MaximumOnly

Scoring Curve

Scoring curve unavailable

The scoring engine could not generate a curve for this benchmark context. The primary form is Point, but the benchmark data may be missing required fields (e.g., optimal range bounds for an OptimalRange benchmark). This is typically a data quality issue in the benchmark pipeline.

Evidence & Context

While the detrimental threshold is defined as any value > 0 m/ha, the data from rural landscapes (Table 1) can be used to establish a qualitative scale of degradation severity.

Metric Definition:

Density of active gullies per hectare at which environmental degradation begins.

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark represents the upper detrimental threshold for gully density in urban and developed areas of arid mountain ranges and uplands in Australia. Any presence of active gullies (greater than 0 m/ha) indicates environmental degradation and a failure of best-practice management.

Justification:

Any measurable density of active gullies is detrimental to environmental health and indicates a failure of best-practice management. This threshold is based on the functional analysis of gully erosion impacts and best-practice management goals.

Sources (1)

Preview of Land Degradation - The Australian Collaboration
Land Degradation - The Australian Collaboration Government

Land Degradation - The Australian Collaboration

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Supporting Sources (2)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Preview of Publications - International Erosion Control Association, accessed August 1, 2025,
Publications - International Erosion Control Association, accessed August 1, 2025,
Direct Evidence

Best Practice Erosion and Sediment Control (BPESC) document

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Preview of Water-Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) Performance in Mitigating ...
Water-Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) Performance in Mitigating ...
Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Water-Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) Performance in Mitigating ...

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Context

  • Region Australia
  • Biome Arid Mountain Ranges & Uplands
  • Land Use Urban & Developed Use
  • Assessment Not Stated
  • Evidence Type DegradationThreshold

Lifecycle

  • Status Active
  • Version 1
  • Effective From 9 Jun 2026

Notes

The threshold at which the landscape state switches from stable to degrading is crossed as soon as gully density becomes greater than zero. AssessmentContext defaulted to 'Not Stated' because the source document did not state one.