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cje ›› 2010, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (04): 766-775.

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Characteristics and cause analysis of land use/cover change in Dunhuang City.

YANG Li-na, NIU Shu-wen, MA Li-bang, LI Yi-xin   

  1. College of Earth and Environmental Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
  • Online:2010-04-09 Published:2010-04-09

Abstract: By using ArcGIS 9.2 software in combining with field survey, the Landsat5-TM remote sensing images of Dunhuang City in 1987, 1996, and 2007 were interpreted. A total of eight land use/cover types were obtained, and the characteristics and causes of the land use/cover change were analyzed. In the past 20 years, the vegetation coverage in the City had a declining trend, and the coverage area was decreasing. Among the eight land use types, the cropland, urban construction land, and non-vegetation land had a net increase in their area, while the other five land use types presented a net decrease. There were inter-conversions among the eight land use types, and the main directions were: parts of grassland and non-vegetation land transformed into croplands, parts of wetland and shrub land transformed into grassland, and high coverage grassland was successively transformed into medium coverage grassland, low coverage grassland, and non-vegetation land. Except that the vegetation coverage in the edge area of cropland had somewhat increase, the vegetations in the other areas degenerated obviously. Elevated air temperature was the important natural factor affecting the land use/cover change, and land reclamation and irrigation were the important human factors affecting this change.

Key words: Grazing and clipping intensity, Artemisia frigida, Growth, Resource allocation