Dynamic of China’s cultivated land and landcover changes of its typical regions based on remote sensing data

Abstract

Using the multi-temporal Landsat data and survey data of national resources, the authors studied the dynamics of cultivated land and landcover changes of typical ecological regions in China. The results of investigation showed that the whole distribution of the cultivated land shifted to Northeast and Northwest China, and as a result, the ecological quality of cultivated land dropped down. The seacoast and cultivated land in the area of Yellow River Mouth expanded by an increasing rate of 0.73 km·a⁻¹, with a depositing rate of 2.1 km·a⁻¹. The desertification area of the dynamic of Horqin Sandy Land increased from 60.02% of the total land area in 1970s to 64.82% in 1980s but decreased to 54.90% in early 1990s. As to the change of North Tibet lakes, the water area of the Namu Lake decreased by 38.58 km² from year 1970 to 1988, with a decreasing rate of 2.14 km²·a⁻¹.

Keywords

Remote sensing data / Cultivated land / Landcover change / Typical ecological regions / China / P25 / S29 / A