Abstract: Based on the 2009 Quickbird satellite image and the GIS spatial analysis techniques, we selected land use degree index and landscape pattern metrics, combining with gradient analysis, to study the land use intensity and landscape structure change of urban-rural gradient in a typical town (Xinzhuang town) of south Jiangsu. The results showed that in Xinzhuang region, paddy field was the dominant landscape type, while rural construction land, fish pond, and water body were the main landscape types. The land use intensity in town area was significantly greater than that in rural area, while the land use degree index decreased gradually with the increasing distance from the town center. In town area, the landscape space aggregation degree was greater, landscape structure was more regular, and fragmentation degree was lower; while in rural area, the landscape space had a larger dispersion degree, with more complex shape and serious fragmentation, and the landscape pattern was under optimization. The land use intensity showed significant negative correlations with patch density and landscape shape index (P<0.05), significant positive correlations with Shannon diversity and evenness index (P<0.01), and significant correlation with aggregation index, suggesting that with the increasing intensity of land development, the town landscape was towards more diversified and homogeneous, construction land became dominant landscape, and spatial aggregation was increasingly enhanced.

Key words: Brachionus rubens, Food, Population growth rate, Body volume, Egg volume