Acta Geographica Sinica ›› 2001, Vol. 56 ›› Issue (6): 640-648.doi: 10.11821/xb200106002

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A Study on Land Use and Land Cover Quality Change:Taking Yellow River Delta as a Case

XU Xue-gong1, CHEN Xiao-ling2, GUO Hong-hai3, LIN Hui-ping4   

  1. 1. MOE Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes and Department of Urban and Environmental Sciences,Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;
    2. National Laboratory for Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing,Wuhan University, Wuhan 430070, China;
    3. Soil and Fertilizer Institute, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China
  • Received:2001-02-21 Revised:2001-09-02 Online:2001-11-15 Published:2001-11-25
  • Supported by:

    National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 49771005

Abstract:

Land use and land cover change (LUCC) plays, an important part in the studies of global environmental change and sustainable development. Land quality change can particularly reflect the impacts of human socio-economic activities on environment. By means of land classification for LUCC to different times of remote sensing information, picking-up vegetation index (NDVI), and assaying field repeated soil samples, as well as statistical analysis, this paper studies land use and land cover quality change of past several to 21 years in the Yellow River Delta. The conclusions are as follows: 1. In the Yellow River Delta, although sediment loads carried by the Yellow River result in rapid expansion of land area, the main driving force of LUCC is derived from human economic activities. 2. In the macroscopic view, land use and land cover quality change shows a tendency to improve because of water conservancy projects, vegetation cover and increase of per unit area yield of crop so that the overall ecological environment is improving in the mass. But in the microcosmic and point analysis, there are different and imbalanced development within the region. The task of transforming saline land is still arduous. The hidden trouble of soil fertility depression can not be neglected. 3. Both natural force and human action can engender environmental positive and negative effects. But it is more difficult to restore the latter made by human activities. The paper brings forward measures for sustainable land use. Finally, there is a discussion about issues of further study.

Key words: land use and land cover change (LUCC), land quality change, the Yellow River Delta