Analysis of Landscape Pattern Changes and Driving Forces in Nanling National Nature Reserve

The spatial and temporal changes of landscape pattern and their driving forces in each functional zone of Nanling National Nature Reserve were analyzed based on the GIS and RS platform. The results showed that from 1988 to 2009, in respect of changes of Jandscape area, the main forest landscape accounted about 95% of the total area, of which evergreen broad-leaved forest had the largest area, accounting for more than 50% of the total area. The dominant landscape was coniferous forest. In respect of landscape fragmentation, the density index of land- scape in the whole area increased, and the degree of landscape fragmentation also increased. In the core area, the patch density decreased slightly, and the average patch area of each type of landscape increased; the degree of landscape fragmen- tation increased slightly. In the buffer area and the experimental area, the degree of landscape fragmentation increased. In terms of landscape diversity, the landscape pattern in the whole area became complex, and the diversity index of landscape in- creased and the degree of heterogeneity increased. In the core area, the diversity index of landscape increased slightly. In the buffer area, it increased significantly. In the experiment area, the diversity index reduced, and the degree of landscape het- erogeneity reduced. In the whole study area, the landscape tended to be diversified. The landscape pattern of the experimental area was consistent with that of the whole study area, and there was no obvious change in the buffer zone, while the landscape pattern in the core area developed towards the single direction.

RS-based Evaluation of Forest Cover Changes in Nanling National Nature Reserve

3S technology was applied to analyze spatio-temporal changes of landscape pattern in Nanling National Nature Reserve and the driving forces. The results showed that the study area was dominated by forest landscape from 1988 to 2009, accounting for 95% of the total area, among all forest landscapes, evergreen broadleaved forest accounted for the largest ratio(>50%). In terms of landscape fragmentation, landscape density index of the study area increased, landscape fragmentation was aggravated; patch density of core zone declined slightly, mean patch area of all landscape types increased, landscape fragmentation decreased slightly; buffer zone and experimental zone witnessed the aggravation of fragmentation. In terms of landscape diversity, landscape pattern of the study area became increasingly complex, diversity index increased, landscape heterogenization was enhanced; landscape diversity of the core zone increased slightly, that of the buffer zone increased greatly, but that of the experimental zone declined and landscape heterogenization reduced. Landscapes in the whole area grew more diversified, while landscape pattern of the core zone was simplified, that of the buffer zone witnessed slight changes, and that of the experimental zone kept consistent with that of the study area. In terms of driving forces of landscape pattern change, natural factors have contributed to the landscape changes in the study area, but human factors such as forest management, forest tourism, local residents an economic factors played a dominant role. With the increasing external interventions to the landscape pattern change, the contradiction between landscape eco-environment protection and resource development and utilization in Nanling National Nature Reserve will be increasingly sharpened.