Industrial development and land use/cover change and their effects on local environment:a case study of Changshu in eastern coastal China

The interactions among industrial development,land use/cover change (LUCC), and environmentaleffects in Changshu in the eastern coastal China wereanalyzed using high-resolution Landsat TM data in 1990,1995, 2000, and 2006, socio-economic data and waterenvironmental quality monitoring data from researchinstitutes and governmental departments. Three phases ofindustrial development in Changshu were examined (i.e.,the three periods of 1990 to 1995, 1995 to 2000, and 2000to 2006). Besides industrial development and rapidurbanization, land use/cover in Changshu had changeddrastically from 1990 to 2006. This change was characterizedby major replacements of farmland by urban and ruralsettlements, artificial ponds, forested and constructed land.Industrialization, urbanization, agricultural structureadjustment, and rural housing construction were themajor socio-economic driving forces of LUCC inChangshu. In addition, the annual value of ecosystemservices in Changshu decreased slightly during 1990-2000, but increased significantly during 2000-2006.Nevertheless, the local environmental quality in Changshu,especially in rural areas, has not yet been improvedsignificantly. Thus, this paper suggests an increasedattention to fully realize the role of land supply inadjustment of environment-friendly industrial structureand urban-rural spatial restructuring, and translating theland management and environmental protection policiesinto an optimized industrial distribution and land-use pattern.