Research progress in the utilization of herbaceous plants in ecological restoration of gully erosion in Northeast China

<p indent="0mm">Gully erosion has become a global environmental issue, and it continues to deteriorate under intensified climate change. As a consequence of soil erosion, erosion gullies can cause significant annual grain loss and pose a severe threat to the national food security. Therefore, vegetation has emerged as a critical tool for controlling soil erosion due to its environmentally friendly, ecological, and sustainable characteristics. This article analyzes the causes of erosion gullies and their detrimental impacts on the farmland, discusses current remediation approaches, including landfill reclamation, vegetation restoration, and combined vegetation-engineering models, along with their advantages and limitations. Furthermore, it reviews research progress and mechanisms of vegetation in inhibiting erosion within gullies, with a focus on herbaceous plants in erosion control. Based on the practical engineering applications of herbaceous vegetation in managing erosion gullies in Northeast China, this article proposes the “Honeycomb Grid Ecological Remediation Model for Erosion Gullies”. By integrating herbaceous plants with engineering materials through collaborative configuration, this model achieves a dual enhancement of ecological benefits and soil and water conservation stability, offering theoretical support and practical references for applying herbaceous plants in erosion gully management.