Background The black soil region in Northeast China bears the important responsibility of the "regulator" of national food security in China, but the soil erosion caused by improper protection or unprotected reclamation leads to land degradation, and the sustainable use of black soil resources is seriously restricted. The erosion gullies in the Hebei River Basin are large in size and wide in area, and the disasters are serious, thus the systematic prevention and control of them is of great significance for the protection of food security and land resources. Due to the unique climatic and topographic conditions and land use situation, the research on erosion gully prevention and control in the Hebei River Basin needs to be strengthened.

Methods Taking the gully heads of different texture types in the Hebei Basin as the research object, 3–4 samples were collected at each furrow head position in the depth range of 0–40 cm as 1 group, and a total of 5 groups were used for repeat experiments, the gully cutting was divided by laser particle size analyzer, the change characteristics of pore water pressure were analyzed by the consolidation undrained compression test, and the differences in hydraulic properties between different texture types were explored through instantaneous dehumidification and hygroscopic experiments.

Results 1) The pore water pressure and decay rate of the three clay types were as follows: G2 (light clay gully head cut) > G1 (medium clay gully head cut) > G3 (heavy clay gully head cut). The two loam types are as follows: G5 (sandy loam gully head cut) > G4 (heavy loam gully head cut). 2) G3 has the lowest permeability rate and the largest residual water content, and G5 has the highest permeability rate and the smallest residual water content. The rates of drying and moisture absorption were as follows: G5 > G4 > G2 > G1> G3. 3) The pore water pressure change index of three types of clay gully heads: G2, G1, and G3was negatively correlated with the aggregate stability index. Two types of loam soils cut the furrow and the head of the gully: The pore water pressure change index of G4 and G5 was positively correlated with the stability index of aggregates.

Conclusions The hydrodynamic properties of the soil at the head of the gully with different texture types in the basin were obtained, which supplemented the gaps in this part and provided data support for the prevention and control of gullies erosion and the protection of land resources in the Hebei River Basin.