{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,20]],"date-time":"2026-03-20T11:18:11Z","timestamp":1774005491317,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":62,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2014,7,29]],"date-time":"2014-07-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1406592000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study presents a computer vision application of the structure from motion (SfM) technique in three dimensional high resolution gully monitoring in southern Morocco. Due to impractical use of terrestrial Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) in difficult to access gully systems, the inexpensive SfM is a promising tool for analyzing and monitoring soil loss, gully head retreat and plunge pool development following heavy rain events. Objects with known dimensions were placed around the gully scenes for scaling purposes as a workaround for ground control point (GCP) placement. Additionally, the free scaling with objects was compared to terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) data in a field laboratory in Germany. Results of the latter showed discrepancies of 5.6% in volume difference for erosion and 1.7% for accumulation between SfM and TLS. In the Moroccan research area soil loss varied between 0.58 t in an 18.65 m2 narrowly stretched gully incision and 5.25 t for 17.45 m2 in a widely expanded headcut area following two heavy rain events. Different techniques of data preparation were applied and the advantages of SfM for soil erosion monitoring under complex surface conditions were demonstrated.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs6087050","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2014,7,29]],"date-time":"2014-07-29T10:58:58Z","timestamp":1406631538000},"page":"7050-7080","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":136,"title":["Small-Scale Surface Reconstruction and Volume Calculation  of Soil Erosion in Complex Moroccan Gully Morphology Using Structure from Motion"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"6","author":[{"given":"Andreas","family":"Kaiser","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Soil and Water Conservation Unit, Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg,  D-09599 Freiberg, Germany"}]},{"given":"Fabian","family":"Neugirg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Geography, Catholic University of Eichst\u00e4tt-Ingolstadt,  D-85072 Eichst\u00e4tt, Germany"}]},{"given":"Gilles","family":"Rock","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Remote Sensing and Geomatics, University of Trier,  D-54286 Trier, Germany"}]},{"given":"Christoph","family":"M\u00fcller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Management, University Koblenz-Landau, D-56070 Koblenz, Germany"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4874-2527","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Florian","family":"Haas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Geography, Catholic University of Eichst\u00e4tt-Ingolstadt,  D-85072 Eichst\u00e4tt, Germany"}]},{"given":"Johannes","family":"Ries","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Geography, University of Trier, D-54286 Trier, Germany"}]},{"given":"J\u00fcrgen","family":"Schmidt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Soil and Water Conservation Unit, Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg,  D-09599 Freiberg, Germany"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2014,7,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"5","article-title":"Challenges in gully erosion research","volume":"17","author":"Poesen","year":"2011","journal-title":"Landf. Anal"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"91","DOI":"10.1016\/S0341-8162(02)00143-1","article-title":"Gully erosion and environmental change: Importance and research needs","volume":"50","author":"Poesen","year":"2003","journal-title":"Catena"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3390","DOI":"10.3390\/rs4113390","article-title":"Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for monitoring soil erosion in morocco","volume":"4","author":"Marzolff","year":"2012","journal-title":"Remote Sens"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"309","DOI":"10.1016\/S0341-8162(02)00133-9","article-title":"Monitoring of gully erosion in the Central Ebro Basin by large-scale aerial photography taken from a remotely controlled blimp","volume":"50","author":"Ries","year":"2003","journal-title":"Catena"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"48","DOI":"10.1016\/j.geomorph.2008.05.047","article-title":"The potential of 3D gully monitoring with GIS using high-resolution aerial photography and a digital photogrammetry system","volume":"111","author":"Marzolff","year":"2009","journal-title":"Geomorphology"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1114","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1475-4754.2012.00667.x","article-title":"Computer Vision-based orthophoto mapping of complex archaological sites: The ancient quarry of Pitaranha","volume":"54","author":"Verhoeven","year":"2012","journal-title":"Archaeometry"},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"Farenzena, M., Fusiello, A., and Gheradi, R. (2008, January 14\u201318). Efficient visualization of architectural models from a structure and motion pipeline.. Crete, Greece."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"485","DOI":"10.1142\/S0218001488000285","article-title":"Motion and structure from motion in a piecewise planar environment","volume":"2","author":"Faugeras","year":"1988","journal-title":"Int. J. Patt. Recogn. Artif. Intell"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1319","DOI":"10.2136\/sssaj2011.0390","article-title":"Comparing the accuracy of several field methods for measuring gully erosion","volume":"76","author":"Castillo","year":"2012","journal-title":"Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"300","DOI":"10.1016\/j.geomorph.2012.08.021","article-title":"\u201cStructure-from-Motion\u201d photogrammetry: A low-cost, effective tool for geoscience applications\u201d","volume":"179","author":"Westoby","year":"2012","journal-title":"Geomorphology"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1392","DOI":"10.3390\/rs4051392","article-title":"An automated technique for generating georectified mosaics from ultra-high resolution Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Imagery, based on Structure from Motion (SfM) point clouds","volume":"4","author":"Turner","year":"2012","journal-title":"Remote Sens"},{"key":"ref_12","unstructured":"Haas, F., Heckmann, T., Becht, M., and Cyffka, B. (July, January 28). Ground-based laserscanning\u2014A new method for measuring fluvial erosion on steep slopes.. Melbourne, VIC, Australia."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5851","DOI":"10.3390\/rs5115851","article-title":"GIS-Based detection of gullies in terrestrial LiDAR data of the Cerro Llamoca Peatland (Peru)","volume":"5","author":"Griesbaum","year":"2013","journal-title":"Remote Sens"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"242","DOI":"10.3390\/ijgi1030242","article-title":"Detecting changes in forest structure over time with bi-temporal terrestrial laser scanning data","volume":"1","author":"Liang","year":"2012","journal-title":"ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1604","DOI":"10.1002\/esp.2172","article-title":"Short-term versus medium-term monitoring for detecting gully-erosion variability in a mediterranean environment","volume":"36","author":"Marzolff","year":"2011","journal-title":"Earth Surf. Process. Landf"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1016\/j.catena.2010.12.002","article-title":"Field experiments for understanding and quantification of rill erosion processes","volume":"91","author":"Wirtz","year":"2012","journal-title":"Catena"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1029\/2011JF002289","article-title":"Straightforward reconstruction of 3D surfaces and topography with a camera: Accuracy and geoscience application","volume":"117","author":"James","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res"},{"key":"ref_18","unstructured":"deCarta. Available online: www.decarta.com."},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"Mensching. (1957). Marokko\u2014Die Landschaften im Maghreb, Keysersche Verlagsbuchhandlung."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11","DOI":"10.1016\/j.crte.2005.11.012","article-title":"Tectonics of the anti-atlas of Morocco","volume":"338","author":"Burkhard","year":"2006","journal-title":"Compt. Rendus Geosci"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"288","DOI":"10.1016\/j.gloplacha.2009.03.002","article-title":"Pliocene\u2013Quaternary fluvial and aeolian records in the Souss Basin, Southwest Morocco: A geomorphological model","volume":"68","author":"Bridgland","year":"2009","journal-title":"Glob. Planet. Chang"},{"key":"ref_22","unstructured":"Food and Agriculture Organization. (1963). Carte Bioclimatique de la Zone M\u00e9diterran\u00e9enne (Notice Explicative)\u2014Recherches sur la Zone Aride, Organisation des Nations Unies pour l\u2019\u00e9ducation, la science et la culture."},{"key":"ref_23","unstructured":"El Ghannouchi, A. (2007). Dynamique \u00c9olienne Dans la Plaine de Souss: Approche Mod\u00e9lisatrice de la lutte Contre l\u2019Ensablement, Facult\u00e9 des Sciences."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"24","DOI":"10.1016\/j.catena.2013.09.004","article-title":"Soil erosion in gully catchments affected by land-levelling measures in the Souss Basin, Morocco, analysed by rainfall simulation and UAV remote sensing data","volume":"113","author":"Peter","year":"2014","journal-title":"Catena"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1370","DOI":"10.1109\/JPROC.2010.2049330","article-title":"Scene Reconstruction and visualization from community photo collections","volume":"98","author":"Snavely","year":"2010","journal-title":"Proc. IEEE"},{"key":"ref_26","unstructured":"Ovod, D. Image capture tips\u2014Equipment and shooting scenarios.. Available online: http:\/\/www.agisoft.ru\/tutorials\/photoscan."},{"key":"ref_27","unstructured":"Brown, D.C. (1971, January 26\u201329). Close-range camera calibration. Urbana, IL, USA."},{"key":"ref_28","first-page":"51","article-title":"Lens distortion for close-range photogrammetry","volume":"52","author":"Fryer","year":"1986","journal-title":"Photogram. Eng. Remote Sens"},{"key":"ref_29","unstructured":"Agisoft. Lens. Available online: http:\/\/downloads.agisoft.ru\/lens\/doc\/en\/lens.pdf."},{"key":"ref_30","unstructured":"Agisoft. PhotoScan. Available online: downloads.agisoft.ru\/pdf\/photoscan-pro_0_9_0_en.pdf."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lowe, D.G. (1999, January 20\u201325). Object recognition from local scale-invariant features.. Corfu, Greece.","DOI":"10.1109\/ICCV.1999.790410"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"973","DOI":"10.1002\/1096-9837(200008)25:9<973::AID-ESP111>3.0.CO;2-Y","article-title":"Monitoring and modelling morphological change in a braided gravel-bed river using high resolution GPS-based survey","volume":"25","author":"Brasington","year":"2000","journal-title":"Earth Surf. Process. Landf"},{"key":"ref_33","unstructured":"Kazhdan, M., Bolitho, M., and Hoppe, H. (2006, January 26\u201328). Poisson surface reconstruction.. Cagliari, Sardinia."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1847","DOI":"10.1002\/esp.2206","article-title":"Detection of surface change in complex topography using terrestrial laser scanning: Application to the Illgraben debris-flow channel","volume":"36","author":"Densmore","year":"2011","journal-title":"Earth Surf. Process. Landf"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1657","DOI":"10.1002\/esp.1592","article-title":"Application of a 3D laser scanner in the assessment of erosion and deposition volumes and channel change in a proglacial river","volume":"32","author":"Milan","year":"2007","journal-title":"Earth Surf. Process. Landf"},{"key":"ref_36","unstructured":"Haas, F., Heckmann, T., Hilger, L., and Becht, M. (2012). Erosion and Sediment Yields in the Changing Environment, International Association of Hydrological Sciences."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"137","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compenvurbsys.2013.11.004","article-title":"Data infrastructure for multitemporal airborne LiDAR point cloud analysis\u2014Examples from physical geography in high mountain environments","volume":"45","author":"Rieg","year":"2014","journal-title":"Comput. Environ. Urban Syst"},{"key":"ref_38","unstructured":"Riegl, J., Studnicka, N., and Ullrich, A. (October, January 30). Merging and processing of laser scan data and high-resolution digital images acquired with a hybrid 3D laser sensor.. Antalya, Turkey."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"136","DOI":"10.1002\/esp.1886","article-title":"Accounting for uncertainty in DEMs from repeat topographic surveys: Improved sediment budgets","volume":"35","author":"Wheaton","year":"2009","journal-title":"Earth Surf. Process. Landf"},{"key":"ref_40","unstructured":"Charlton, M.E., Coveney, S., and McCarthy, T. (2009). Laser Scanning for the Environmental Sciences, Wiley-Blackwell."},{"key":"ref_41","unstructured":"Vosselman, G., and Maas, H.-G. (2010). Airborne and Terrestrial Laser Scanning, Whittles Publishing."},{"key":"ref_42","unstructured":"Girardeau-Montaut, D. (2014). CloudCompare (Version 2.4) (GPL Software), EDF R&D, Telecom Paris Tech. Available online: http:\/\/www.danielgm.net\/cc\/."},{"key":"ref_43","unstructured":"Autodesk. 3Ds Max. Available online: http:\/\/store.autodesk.eu\/store\/adsk\/en_IE\/DisplayHomePage."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1016\/j.catena.2011.01.007","article-title":"Parameterization of the EROSION 2D\/3D soil erosion model using a small-scale rainfall simulator and upstream runoff simulation","volume":"91","author":"Schindewolf","year":"2012","journal-title":"Catena"},{"key":"ref_45","unstructured":"Michael, A. (2000). Anwendung des Physikalisch Begr\u00fcndeten Erosionsprognosemodells EROSION 2D\/3D\u2014Empirische Ans\u00e4tze zur Ableitung der Modellparameter.. Ph.D. Dissertation."},{"key":"ref_46","first-page":"37","article-title":"3D modelling and accuracy assessment of Granite Quarry using unmanned aerial vehicle","volume":"1","year":"2012","journal-title":"ISPRS Ann. Photogram. Remote Sens. Spat. Inf. Sci"},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"239","DOI":"10.1109\/34.121791","article-title":"A method for registration of 3-D shapes","volume":"14","author":"Besl","year":"1992","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell"},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"114","DOI":"10.1016\/j.catena.2012.10.004","article-title":"An empirical investigation of gully widening rates in upland concentrated flows","volume":"101","author":"Wells","year":"2013","journal-title":"Catena"},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"637","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhydrol.2011.08.067","article-title":"Identification of runoff processes\u2014The impact of different forest types and soil properties on runoff formation and floods","volume":"409","author":"Schneider","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Hydrol"},{"key":"ref_50","unstructured":"Hydrologic Engineering Center (2005). HEC-GeoRAS\u2014An Application for Support of HEC-RAS Using ARC\/INFO\u2014User\u2019s Manual, US Army Corps of Engineers, USGS."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"305","DOI":"10.1016\/j.geomorph.2003.08.005","article-title":"Assessment of sidewall erosion in large gullies using multi-temporal DEMs and logistic regression analysis","volume":"58","author":"Ramos","year":"2004","journal-title":"Geomorphology"},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1002\/hyp.150","article-title":"The cycle of instability: Stress release and fissure flow as controls on gully head retreat","volume":"15","author":"Collison","year":"2001","journal-title":"Hydrol. Process"},{"key":"ref_53","unstructured":"Kemper, W.D., and Rosenau, R.C. (1986). Aggregate Stability and Size Distribution, American Society of Agronomy. Soil Science Society of America: Madison, WI, USA."},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"552","DOI":"10.1097\/01.ss.0000085050.25696.52","article-title":"Sodicity and water quality effects on slaking of aggregates from semi-arid soils","volume":"168","author":"Levy","year":"2003","journal-title":"Soil Sci"},{"key":"ref_55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"95","DOI":"10.5424\/sjar\/2003014-51","article-title":"Chemical, spontaneous and mechanical dispersion of clays in arid-zone soils","volume":"2003","author":"Amezketa","year":"2003","journal-title":"Span. J. Agric. Res"},{"key":"ref_56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"166","DOI":"10.1016\/j.geomorph.2014.01.006","article-title":"Modeling the topography of shallow braided rivers using Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry","volume":"213","author":"Javernick","year":"2014","journal-title":"Geomorphology"},{"key":"ref_57","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2060","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jas.2012.02.022","article-title":"Mapping by matching: A computer vision-based approach to fast and accurate georeferencing of archaeological aerial photographs","volume":"39","author":"Verhoeven","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Arch. Sci"},{"key":"ref_58","unstructured":"Schmidt, J. (1991). Erosion, Transport and Deposition Processes\u2014Theories and Models;, Elsevier. Catena Supplement."},{"key":"ref_59","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1587","DOI":"10.13031\/2013.31195","article-title":"A process-based soil erosion model for USDA-water erosion prediction project technology","volume":"32","author":"Nearing","year":"1989","journal-title":"Am. Soc. Agric. Eng"},{"key":"ref_60","first-page":"1107","article-title":"LISEM: A single-event physically based hydrological and soil erosion model for drainage basins. I.: Theory, input and output","volume":"8","author":"Wesseling","year":"1996","journal-title":"Hydrol. Process"},{"key":"ref_61","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"887","DOI":"10.1002\/hyp.1168","article-title":"Erosion models: Quality of spatial predictions","volume":"17","author":"Jetten","year":"2003","journal-title":"Hydrol. Process"},{"key":"ref_62","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"82","DOI":"10.1109\/JPROC.1998.658762","article-title":"Cramming more components onto integrated circuits","volume":"86","author":"Moore","year":"1998","journal-title":"Proc. IEEE"}],"container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/6\/8\/7050\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T21:14:10Z","timestamp":1760217250000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/6\/8\/7050"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2014,7,29]]},"references-count":62,"journal-issue":{"issue":"8","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2014,8]]}},"alternative-id":["rs6087050"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/rs6087050","relation":{},"ISSN":["2072-4292"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2072-4292","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2014,7,29]]}}}