Abstract:

With the aid of RS and GIS techniques and based on five TM images of Uxin Qi from 1986 to 2005, land use change is quantitatively studied by employing land use dynamic degree and land use shift matrix, landscape characteristics and dynamic changes of spatial landscape pattern are analyzed by using quantitative and qualitative methods, human driving factors of land use change are analyzed with socio-economic data. The research indicates (1) fluctuation between expansionary path and falling trend took place in land use types during the past 20 years. According to conversion direction of land use in 1986, woodland, grassland and sandy land transformed frequently, cropland were mainly converted to woodland, grassland and sandy land, water area mainly to other unutilized land which otherwise converted to grassland and sandy land, and no conversion happened to industrial and mining land. According to conversion source of land use in 2005, cropland was mainly converted from woodland, sandy land and grassland; woodland mainly converted from sandy land and grassland; grassland mainly converted from sandy land and woodland; water area mainly from sandy land and cropland; habitation mainly from sandy land, grassland and woodland; and other unutilized land mainly from grassland, water area and woodland. (2)Dynamics of landscape pattern in Uxin Qi manifest that fractal dimension of all landscape decreases, shape index shows an increasing trend except that of habitation, patch density and isolation degree presents a decreasing trend except that of water area, and dominance index declines and diversity index increases on the whole. (3) Population growth, economic development and ecological fathering projects are the main human driving factors influencing land use change.

Key words: dynamics of landscape pattern, human driving factors, land use change, Uxin Qi