Landscape evolution in the Yellow River Basin using satellite remote sensing and GIS during the past decade

Over the past decade, rapid landscape pattern change has taken place in many arid and semi-arid regions of China, such as the Yellow River Basin. In this paper, landscape evolution was investigated by the combined use of satellite remote sensing, geographic information system (GIS) and landscape modelling technologies. The aim was to improve our understanding of landscape changes so that sustainable land use could be established. First, the changes in various landscape metrics were analysed using the landscape structure analysis programme. Second, the mathematical methodology was explored and developed for landscape pattern change, which included: the status and trends change model for individual landscape types, the 1-km² area percentage data model and the transition matrix of landscape types. The results show that the area of the Yellow River Basin was about 794 000 km² during the period from 1990 to 2000; cropland, built-up land and unused land expanded significantly whereas woodland, grassland and water bodies contracted substantially. The area of cropland increased dramatically by 2817 km², and the areas of grassland and woodland decreased by 4669 and 33 km², respectively. Meanwhile, the landscape pattern in the study area also experienced numerous changes over the past decade. The major factors that caused the landscape changes in this area over the past decade were found to be governmental policies for environmental protection, population growth, and meteorological and environmental conditions.