Abstract: Based on the 1988, 1998, and 2006 Landsat TM images and road maps of Nanjing metropolitan region, this paper studied the dynamic changes of settlement percentage coverage (SPC), road density (RD), and their relationships during Nanjing in 1988-2006. In the study period, the settlements and road systems in the city expanded dramatically, but the relative growth rate (RGR) of SPC and RD decreased with their increasing processes. Comparatively, SPC increased faster than RD. The SPC/RD ratio increased rapidly with increasing SPC, but tended to be stable when the SPC increased to about 30%. SPC and RD all declined with  increasing distance from the urban center, but the annual mean RGR of RD changed less with the location and the time period. Comparing with road systems, settlement scale was more easily affected by local factors.

Key words: Forest hydrology, Forest hydrological modeling, GIS (Geographical information system)