Abstract: The upper reach of Minjiang River is the representative of mountainous area in Southwest China in the aspects of natural environment,ecosystem structure,economic development,and social culture.The characteristics of the dynamic changes of its land use and land cover stood for the common questions occurred in the land resources and usage of this area.Woodland and grassland are the main types of land use and land cover,and many changes in land use/cover types happened from 1974 to 2000.Among forestland,shrub land,economic forestland,grassland,cropland and resident land,changes mainly happened between woodland and grassland,and all occurred bilaterally.The area of forestland changed mostly and kept decreasing from 1974 to 2000,while that of other land types increased.The changes of land use and land cover happened between 1974 and 1986 were larger than those happened between 1986 and 2000.Population and economy were the main driving factors for the changes of land use and land cover in the upper reach of Minjiang River.Since the programs of Natural Forest Protection and Withdrawing Cropland to Woodland and Grassland carried into execution,the land use and land cover have changed rationally.

Key words: Natural zeolite, Nutrient-preserving capability, Degraded slope soil, South China