THE DYNAMIC MONITORING OF HORQIN SAND LAND USING REMOTE SENSING

Horqin Sand Land is regarded as the t ypical region for studying the probl em of desertification.The integra-tion of 3S(GIS,GPS and RS)techniques offer a most helpful meth od to study and monitor the dynamics o f desertification.Based on the data derived from3perio ds’ multitemporal Landsat TMimagery of the 1990s,the regional land use a nd dynam-ics of desertification in Horqin San d Land were studied.The main results revealed that:1)as long as the general change tendency was concerned,the deserti fication of Horqin Sand Land would co ntinue to spread;2)there was a gradual de-crease in the area of both moving sand dunes and semi-stabilized ones,whi ch meant that fruitful progress had b een made to control the desertification during the 1990s;3)as a result of unreasonable cultivation,the total area of stabilized san d dunes and grassland in the middle and western region decreased obviously.It suggested that the increasing damage caused by human was leading to the hazard of further desertification.So i n the future,it is necessary to take more effec-tive measures to control the spread o f desertification and restore the degraded ecosystems for the purpose of optimizing the global eco-environment in Horqin Sand Land.

Horqin Sand Land is regarded as the typical region for studying the problemof desertification. The integration of 3S(GIS, GPS and RS) techniques offer a roost helpful methodto study and monitor the dynamics of desertification. Based on the data derived from 3 periods'multitemporal Landsat TM imagery of the 1990s, the regional land use and dynamics of desertificationin Horqin Sand Land were studied. The main results revealed that: 1) as long as the general changetendency was concerned, the desertification of Horqin Sand Land would continue to spread; 2) therewas a gradual decrease in the area of both moving sand dunes and semi-stabilized ones, which meantthat fruitful progress had been made to control the desertification during the 1990s; 3) as a resultof unreasonable cultivation, the total area of stabilized sand dunes and grassland in the middleand western region decreased obviously. It suggested that the increasing damage caused by human wasleading to the hazard of further desertification. So in the future, it is necessary to take moreeffective measures to control the spread of desertification and restore the degraded ecosystems forthe purpose of optimizing the global eco-environment in Horqin Sand Land.