This paper carries out quantitative analysis on the land use/cover (LU/C) change of 13anjin Binhai New Area in recent 10 years through using land use transition matrix from the three-stage LU/C classification maps o...This paper carries out quantitative analysis on the land use/cover (LU/C) change of 13anjin Binhai New Area in recent 10 years through using land use transition matrix from the three-stage LU/C classification maps of 2000, 2005 and 2010 drafted by means of the National Land Classification System of China based on Landsat TM satellite remote sensing image and the Tianjin Binhai New Area 1:50 000 relief maps. On this basis, the impact of such driving factors as the economy and population on LU/C is further analyzed. The results show that the area of the building land in Binhai New Area has increased significantly over the ten years, and the greenland, wetland, and shoals of high ecological value have been dramatically transformed into the building land and unused land for the development and construction, and the change is more significant in the later five years.展开更多
The contribution rate of ecosystem service value variation was used to analyze the effects of land use changes on the changes of ecosystem service value in Xingguo County during 1996-2005.Grey integrated correlation w...The contribution rate of ecosystem service value variation was used to analyze the effects of land use changes on the changes of ecosystem service value in Xingguo County during 1996-2005.Grey integrated correlation was employed to explore the contribution level of the indicators such as total population,urbanization level,proportion of primary industry and investment of social fixed assets on ecosystem service value,and the correlation analysis was also carried out.The results showed that the ecosystem service value in Xingguo County during 1996-2005 mainly was woodland,and the decrease of woodland area was the major reason for the sustained reduction of ecosystem service value.With the further increase of market demand and the incentives of local government,the garden area rapidly increased during 2001-2005,and the influence degree of garden towards the changes of ecosystem service value was only second to woodland,ranking No.2.Four socio-economic indicators had different correlation degree with ecosystem service value during the different research periods.Total population,urbanization level and proportion of primary industry had high correlation degree with ecosystem service value,whereas the influence degree of various socio-economic indicators on ecosystem service value was equal with each other day by day.Urbanization level,investment of social fixed assets and total population had significant negative correlation with ecosystem service value,while the proportion of primary industry had positive correlation with ecosystem service value.展开更多
Forest fire is one of the major causes of forest loss and therefore one of the main constraints for sustainable forest management worldwide.Identifying the driving factors and understanding the contribution of each fa...Forest fire is one of the major causes of forest loss and therefore one of the main constraints for sustainable forest management worldwide.Identifying the driving factors and understanding the contribution of each factor are essential for the management of forest fire occurrence.The objective of this study is to identify variables that are spatially related to the occurrence and incidence of the forest fire in the State of Durango,Mexico.For this purpose,data from forest fire records for a five-year period were analyzed.The spatial correlations between forest fire occurrence and intensity of land use,susceptibility of vegetation,temperature,precipitation and slope were tested by Geographically Weighted Regression(GWR) method,under an Ordinary Least Square estimator.Results show that the spatial pattern of the forest fire in the study area is closely correlated with the intensity of land use,and land use change is one of the main explanatory variables.In addition,vegetation type and precipitation are also the main driving factors.The fitting model indicates obvious link between the variables.Forest fire was found to be the consequence of a particular combination of the environmental factors,and when these factors coexist with human activities,there is high probability of forest fire occurrence.Mandatory regulation of human activities is a key strategy for forest fire prevention.展开更多
Urbanization has both direct and indirect impacts on land use change, and analyzing spatio-temporal characteristics of land use change is essential for understanding these impacts. By comparing Landsat TM images, this...Urbanization has both direct and indirect impacts on land use change, and analyzing spatio-temporal characteristics of land use change is essential for understanding these impacts. By comparing Landsat TM images, this paper examines the changes of land use structure and landscape patterns in Shanghai from 1990 to 2015. It finds that the city doubled in size, with the growth of isolated construction land being most significant among eight land use types. A land use change matrix was established and landscape indices were selected to evaluate the change of spatial structure in Shanghai. In order to identify the main driving forces of city expansion in Shanghai, this research ran partial least square regression models to assess the impact of 10 social-economic factors on land use change of Shanghai from 1990 to 2015. It then conducted bivariate correlation analysis to explore the drivers of change of various land use types: urban settlement, rural settlement and isolated construction land. Besides quantitative analysis, this paper analyzes the influence of policy-dimensional factors in land use change. It concludes with future potential research topics on land use change in a rapidly urbanizing context.展开更多
Human-induced land use/cover change (LUCC) forms an important component of global environmental change. Therefore, it is important to study land use/cover and its change at local, regional and global scales. In this p...Human-induced land use/cover change (LUCC) forms an important component of global environmental change. Therefore, it is important to study land use/cover and its change at local, regional and global scales. In this paper we conducted the study of land use change in Northeast China, one of the most important agricultural zones of the nation. From 1986 to 2000, according to the study results obtained from Landsat images, widespread changes in land use/cover took place in the study area. Grassland, marsh, water body and woodland decreased by 9864, 3973, 1367 and 10,052km2, respectively. By comparison, paddy field, dry farmland, and built-up land expanded by 7339, 17193 and 700km2, respectively. Those changes bore an interactive relationship with the environment, especially climate change. On the one hand, climate warming created a potential environment for grassland and marsh to be changed to farmland as more crops could thrive in the warmer climate, and for dry farmland to paddy field. On the other hand, the changed surface cover modified the local climate. Those changes, in turn, have adversely influenced the local environment by accelerating land degradation. In terms of socio-economic driving forces, population augment, regional economic development, and national and provincial policies were confirmed as main driving factors for land use change.展开更多
In a developing country like Ghana, the study of land use and land cover change(LULCC) based on satellite imageries still remains a challenge due to cost, resolution and availability with less skilled man power. Exist...In a developing country like Ghana, the study of land use and land cover change(LULCC) based on satellite imageries still remains a challenge due to cost, resolution and availability with less skilled man power. Existing researches are skewed towards the southerly part of Ghana thereby leaving the Northern sectors uncovered. The maximum likelihood classification(MLC) algorithm was employed for the LULCC between 2000 and 2014 in Nadowli: an area characterized by an upsurge in mining in the Northern belt of Ghana. A spatial-social approach was utilized combining both satellite imagery and socio economic data. Land use transition matrix, land use integrated index/degree indices was used to depict the characters of the change. A semi structured interview, pair wise ranking and key informant interviews were used to correlate the socio economic impact of the different LULC. Overall changes in the landscape showed an increase in bare ground by 19.22%, open savannah by 16.8% whereas closed savanna decreased by 50%. Land use change matrix showed increasing trends of bare ground at the expense of vegetation. The integrated land use index highlighted the bare ground and built up areas rising with a decreasing closed vegetation woodlot. Large farm size are shrinking whiles majority of the people view mining as the main socio economic activity affecting the environment and the reduction in vegetation. This study therefore provides a strategic guide and a baseline data for land use policy actors in the Northern belt of Ghana. This will aid in developing models for future land use change implications in surrounding areas where mining is on the rise.展开更多
Cellular Automata(CA) is widely used for the simulation of land use changes. This study applied a vector-based CA model to simulate land use change in order to minimize or eliminate the scale sensitivity in traditiona...Cellular Automata(CA) is widely used for the simulation of land use changes. This study applied a vector-based CA model to simulate land use change in order to minimize or eliminate the scale sensitivity in traditional raster-based CA model. The cells of vector-based CA model are presented according to the shapes and attributes of geographic entities, and the transition rules of vector-based CA model are improved by taking spatial variables of the study area into consideration. The vector-based CA model is applied to simulate land use changes in downtown of Qidong City, Jiangsu Province, China and its validation is confirmed by the methods of visual assessment and spatial accuracy. The simulation result of vector-based CA model reveals that nearly 75% of newly increased urban cells are located in the northwest and southwest parts of the study area from 2002 to 2007, which is in consistent with real land use map. In addition, the simulation results of the vector-based and raster-based CA models are compared to real land use data and their spatial accuracies are found to be 84.0% and 81.9%, respectively. In conclusion, results from this study indicate that the vector-based CA model is a practical and applicable method for the simulation of urbanization processes.展开更多
While urbanization has accelerated, the rural population in China has started decreasing in recent years. However, the expansion of rural settlement has not been sufficiently curbed. The questions of why this has happ...While urbanization has accelerated, the rural population in China has started decreasing in recent years. However, the expansion of rural settlement has not been sufficiently curbed. The questions of why this has happened and who has driven the land-use change(LUC) of rural settlement in China have aroused great interests among researchers. In this paper, it is suggested that population is not always a positive driving force for the LUC of rural settlement in China. Furthermore, socio-economic driving forces other than urbanization, population and industrialization are analyzed. On a national scale, the major driving forces are the per-capita rural housing area and the cultivated land area. On a regional scale, the main driving forces in the eastern China are the house-building capacity of rural households and the per-capita rural housing area; while in the central China, the main driving forces are rural housing investment, the proportion of primary industry employees in the rural working population, and the cultivated land area. For the western China, the main driving forces are rural register population and cultivated land area.展开更多
People and nature are working in tandem to reduce the integrity of traditional agricultural systems. The paper highlighted the drivers of change acting on traditional agricultural landscapes including the threats and ...People and nature are working in tandem to reduce the integrity of traditional agricultural systems. The paper highlighted the drivers of change acting on traditional agricultural landscapes including the threats and barriers hindering biodiversity conservation. The drivers of change are: modem agriculture, tourism, education and outmigration and climate change. The threats are encroachment and land-use change, pollution, replacement of traditional varieties and erosion of indigenous knowledge systems and practices. The barriers to biodiversity conservation include the incapacity of farmers to respond to pressures affecting their traditional farming systems, absence of methodologies for integrating traditional and modem knowledge in biodiversity conservation and the multi-functionality of traditional agriculture not fully captured by the market. The conservation framework to guide stakeholders for in-situ management of biodiversity includes niche market development, revenue generation and cultural restoration. The study made use of data collected during the series of workshops conducted in 2005-2007 covering the Ifugao Rice Terraces of the Philippines. Secondary data from other traditional agricultural systems were integrated to enrich the discussion and write-up of this paper.展开更多
It is important to study the contributions of climate change and human activities to cropland changes in the fields of both climate change and land use change. Relationships between cropland changes and driving forces...It is important to study the contributions of climate change and human activities to cropland changes in the fields of both climate change and land use change. Relationships between cropland changes and driving forces were qualitatively studied in most of the previous researches. However, the quantitative assessments of the contributions of climate change and human activities to cropland changes are needed to be explored for a better understanding of the dynamics of land use changes. We systematically reviewed the methods of identifying the contributions of climate change and human activities to cropland changes at quantitative aspects, including model analysis, mathematical statistical method, framework analysis, index assessment and difference comparison. Progress of the previous researches on quantitative evaluation of the contributions was introduced. Then we discussed four defects in the assessment of the contributions of climate change and human activities. For example, the methods were lack of comprehensiveness, and the data need to be more accurate and abundant. In addition, the scale was single and the explanations were biased. Moreover, we concluded a clue about quantitative approach to assess the contributions from synthetically aspect to specific driving forces. Finally, the solutions of the future researches on data, scale and explanation were proposed.展开更多
Bush encroachment is widely distributed in arid and semi-arid regions, and it has a serious impact on livestock production, especially in Africa where livestock is a primary source for the livelihoods of many people. ...Bush encroachment is widely distributed in arid and semi-arid regions, and it has a serious impact on livestock production, especially in Africa where livestock is a primary source for the livelihoods of many people. In this study, methods of supervised classification and decision tree classification, and indexes of a land use change significance index(Ci) and a single land use dynamic degree, were applied to remote sensing imagery of Ethiopia for 1986–2016. The results show the dynamic characteristics of grassland bush encroachment in low altitude areas(pastures 1500 m above sea level) of Ethiopia in the 30 year period studied. The results revealed several interesting features of this phenomenon.(1) The area of bush encroachment showed an increasing trend, with a maximum of 3.74×10^3 km^2 in 2003, which represented 68.97% of the total area, and declined slightly from 2003~2016.(2) Among classification types, the area of severe shrub grassland was the largest, accounting for 28.36–49.10% of the total area, while the area of moderate bush encroachment accounted for 9.77–16.68%, and slight bush encroachment accounted for 5.52–7.57%.(3) The expansion rate of shrubby grassland was 0.74% for the 30 year period, while the average annual expansion rate was 2.16% for the 8 years from 1995–2003.(4) Forest land and grassland were the two main land use types of shrub grassland transformation in low altitude areas and bush encroachment changed large amounts of forest land into grassland due to shrub grassland management. The results of this study provide basic data for revealing the impacts of development processes on subsequent bush encroachment and can inform better management for the sustainable development of grasslands in low altitude systems.展开更多
文摘This paper carries out quantitative analysis on the land use/cover (LU/C) change of 13anjin Binhai New Area in recent 10 years through using land use transition matrix from the three-stage LU/C classification maps of 2000, 2005 and 2010 drafted by means of the National Land Classification System of China based on Landsat TM satellite remote sensing image and the Tianjin Binhai New Area 1:50 000 relief maps. On this basis, the impact of such driving factors as the economy and population on LU/C is further analyzed. The results show that the area of the building land in Binhai New Area has increased significantly over the ten years, and the greenland, wetland, and shoals of high ecological value have been dramatically transformed into the building land and unused land for the development and construction, and the change is more significant in the later five years.
基金Supported by Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province"Research on Optimization Model of Land Use in Southern Hilly Region with Red Soil in Jiangxi Province based on Ecological Security Evaluation"(2008GQH0057)Educational Commission of Jiangxi Province"Research on Scenario Simulation of Land Use Security Pattern in Southern Hilly Region with Red Soil in Jiangxi Province" (GJJ09557)Innovative Experimental Projects of National University Students"Research on Land Use Ecological Security Assessment in Hilly Region with Red Soil based on GIS-Xingguo County in Jiangxi Province as an Example"(101042124)~~
文摘The contribution rate of ecosystem service value variation was used to analyze the effects of land use changes on the changes of ecosystem service value in Xingguo County during 1996-2005.Grey integrated correlation was employed to explore the contribution level of the indicators such as total population,urbanization level,proportion of primary industry and investment of social fixed assets on ecosystem service value,and the correlation analysis was also carried out.The results showed that the ecosystem service value in Xingguo County during 1996-2005 mainly was woodland,and the decrease of woodland area was the major reason for the sustained reduction of ecosystem service value.With the further increase of market demand and the incentives of local government,the garden area rapidly increased during 2001-2005,and the influence degree of garden towards the changes of ecosystem service value was only second to woodland,ranking No.2.Four socio-economic indicators had different correlation degree with ecosystem service value during the different research periods.Total population,urbanization level and proportion of primary industry had high correlation degree with ecosystem service value,whereas the influence degree of various socio-economic indicators on ecosystem service value was equal with each other day by day.Urbanization level,investment of social fixed assets and total population had significant negative correlation with ecosystem service value,while the proportion of primary industry had positive correlation with ecosystem service value.
基金Under the auspices of Mexican National Council for Science and Technology (No 2008-01-87972)
文摘Forest fire is one of the major causes of forest loss and therefore one of the main constraints for sustainable forest management worldwide.Identifying the driving factors and understanding the contribution of each factor are essential for the management of forest fire occurrence.The objective of this study is to identify variables that are spatially related to the occurrence and incidence of the forest fire in the State of Durango,Mexico.For this purpose,data from forest fire records for a five-year period were analyzed.The spatial correlations between forest fire occurrence and intensity of land use,susceptibility of vegetation,temperature,precipitation and slope were tested by Geographically Weighted Regression(GWR) method,under an Ordinary Least Square estimator.Results show that the spatial pattern of the forest fire in the study area is closely correlated with the intensity of land use,and land use change is one of the main explanatory variables.In addition,vegetation type and precipitation are also the main driving factors.The fitting model indicates obvious link between the variables.Forest fire was found to be the consequence of a particular combination of the environmental factors,and when these factors coexist with human activities,there is high probability of forest fire occurrence.Mandatory regulation of human activities is a key strategy for forest fire prevention.
基金Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41590844)
文摘Urbanization has both direct and indirect impacts on land use change, and analyzing spatio-temporal characteristics of land use change is essential for understanding these impacts. By comparing Landsat TM images, this paper examines the changes of land use structure and landscape patterns in Shanghai from 1990 to 2015. It finds that the city doubled in size, with the growth of isolated construction land being most significant among eight land use types. A land use change matrix was established and landscape indices were selected to evaluate the change of spatial structure in Shanghai. In order to identify the main driving forces of city expansion in Shanghai, this research ran partial least square regression models to assess the impact of 10 social-economic factors on land use change of Shanghai from 1990 to 2015. It then conducted bivariate correlation analysis to explore the drivers of change of various land use types: urban settlement, rural settlement and isolated construction land. Besides quantitative analysis, this paper analyzes the influence of policy-dimensional factors in land use change. It concludes with future potential research topics on land use change in a rapidly urbanizing context.
基金Under the auspices of the Knowledge Innovation Programs of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZCX2-YW-341)National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40871187, 40801208)
文摘Human-induced land use/cover change (LUCC) forms an important component of global environmental change. Therefore, it is important to study land use/cover and its change at local, regional and global scales. In this paper we conducted the study of land use change in Northeast China, one of the most important agricultural zones of the nation. From 1986 to 2000, according to the study results obtained from Landsat images, widespread changes in land use/cover took place in the study area. Grassland, marsh, water body and woodland decreased by 9864, 3973, 1367 and 10,052km2, respectively. By comparison, paddy field, dry farmland, and built-up land expanded by 7339, 17193 and 700km2, respectively. Those changes bore an interactive relationship with the environment, especially climate change. On the one hand, climate warming created a potential environment for grassland and marsh to be changed to farmland as more crops could thrive in the warmer climate, and for dry farmland to paddy field. On the other hand, the changed surface cover modified the local climate. Those changes, in turn, have adversely influenced the local environment by accelerating land degradation. In terms of socio-economic driving forces, population augment, regional economic development, and national and provincial policies were confirmed as main driving factors for land use change.
基金self-supported as part of the Ph D Program on CSC scholarship in the China University of Geosciences (Wuhan)
文摘In a developing country like Ghana, the study of land use and land cover change(LULCC) based on satellite imageries still remains a challenge due to cost, resolution and availability with less skilled man power. Existing researches are skewed towards the southerly part of Ghana thereby leaving the Northern sectors uncovered. The maximum likelihood classification(MLC) algorithm was employed for the LULCC between 2000 and 2014 in Nadowli: an area characterized by an upsurge in mining in the Northern belt of Ghana. A spatial-social approach was utilized combining both satellite imagery and socio economic data. Land use transition matrix, land use integrated index/degree indices was used to depict the characters of the change. A semi structured interview, pair wise ranking and key informant interviews were used to correlate the socio economic impact of the different LULC. Overall changes in the landscape showed an increase in bare ground by 19.22%, open savannah by 16.8% whereas closed savanna decreased by 50%. Land use change matrix showed increasing trends of bare ground at the expense of vegetation. The integrated land use index highlighted the bare ground and built up areas rising with a decreasing closed vegetation woodlot. Large farm size are shrinking whiles majority of the people view mining as the main socio economic activity affecting the environment and the reduction in vegetation. This study therefore provides a strategic guide and a baseline data for land use policy actors in the Northern belt of Ghana. This will aid in developing models for future land use change implications in surrounding areas where mining is on the rise.
基金Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41101349)Surveying and Mapping Scientific Research Projects of Jiangsu Province(No.JSCHKY201304)+1 种基金Program of Natural Science Research of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China(No.13KJB420003)Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions
文摘Cellular Automata(CA) is widely used for the simulation of land use changes. This study applied a vector-based CA model to simulate land use change in order to minimize or eliminate the scale sensitivity in traditional raster-based CA model. The cells of vector-based CA model are presented according to the shapes and attributes of geographic entities, and the transition rules of vector-based CA model are improved by taking spatial variables of the study area into consideration. The vector-based CA model is applied to simulate land use changes in downtown of Qidong City, Jiangsu Province, China and its validation is confirmed by the methods of visual assessment and spatial accuracy. The simulation result of vector-based CA model reveals that nearly 75% of newly increased urban cells are located in the northwest and southwest parts of the study area from 2002 to 2007, which is in consistent with real land use map. In addition, the simulation results of the vector-based and raster-based CA models are compared to real land use data and their spatial accuracies are found to be 84.0% and 81.9%, respectively. In conclusion, results from this study indicate that the vector-based CA model is a practical and applicable method for the simulation of urbanization processes.
基金Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41001108)China Clean Development Mechanism Fund(No.2031202400003)
文摘While urbanization has accelerated, the rural population in China has started decreasing in recent years. However, the expansion of rural settlement has not been sufficiently curbed. The questions of why this has happened and who has driven the land-use change(LUC) of rural settlement in China have aroused great interests among researchers. In this paper, it is suggested that population is not always a positive driving force for the LUC of rural settlement in China. Furthermore, socio-economic driving forces other than urbanization, population and industrialization are analyzed. On a national scale, the major driving forces are the per-capita rural housing area and the cultivated land area. On a regional scale, the main driving forces in the eastern China are the house-building capacity of rural households and the per-capita rural housing area; while in the central China, the main driving forces are rural housing investment, the proportion of primary industry employees in the rural working population, and the cultivated land area. For the western China, the main driving forces are rural register population and cultivated land area.
文摘People and nature are working in tandem to reduce the integrity of traditional agricultural systems. The paper highlighted the drivers of change acting on traditional agricultural landscapes including the threats and barriers hindering biodiversity conservation. The drivers of change are: modem agriculture, tourism, education and outmigration and climate change. The threats are encroachment and land-use change, pollution, replacement of traditional varieties and erosion of indigenous knowledge systems and practices. The barriers to biodiversity conservation include the incapacity of farmers to respond to pressures affecting their traditional farming systems, absence of methodologies for integrating traditional and modem knowledge in biodiversity conservation and the multi-functionality of traditional agriculture not fully captured by the market. The conservation framework to guide stakeholders for in-situ management of biodiversity includes niche market development, revenue generation and cultural restoration. The study made use of data collected during the series of workshops conducted in 2005-2007 covering the Ifugao Rice Terraces of the Philippines. Secondary data from other traditional agricultural systems were integrated to enrich the discussion and write-up of this paper.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.41401113,No.41371002,No.41471091The Science and Technology Strategic Pilot of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,No.XDA05090310The Key Project of Physical Geography of Hebei Province
文摘It is important to study the contributions of climate change and human activities to cropland changes in the fields of both climate change and land use change. Relationships between cropland changes and driving forces were qualitatively studied in most of the previous researches. However, the quantitative assessments of the contributions of climate change and human activities to cropland changes are needed to be explored for a better understanding of the dynamics of land use changes. We systematically reviewed the methods of identifying the contributions of climate change and human activities to cropland changes at quantitative aspects, including model analysis, mathematical statistical method, framework analysis, index assessment and difference comparison. Progress of the previous researches on quantitative evaluation of the contributions was introduced. Then we discussed four defects in the assessment of the contributions of climate change and human activities. For example, the methods were lack of comprehensiveness, and the data need to be more accurate and abundant. In addition, the scale was single and the explanations were biased. Moreover, we concluded a clue about quantitative approach to assess the contributions from synthetically aspect to specific driving forces. Finally, the solutions of the future researches on data, scale and explanation were proposed.
基金China–Africa Joint Research Centre Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(SAJC201610)Science and Technology partnership ProgramMinistry of Science and Technology of China(KY201702010)
文摘Bush encroachment is widely distributed in arid and semi-arid regions, and it has a serious impact on livestock production, especially in Africa where livestock is a primary source for the livelihoods of many people. In this study, methods of supervised classification and decision tree classification, and indexes of a land use change significance index(Ci) and a single land use dynamic degree, were applied to remote sensing imagery of Ethiopia for 1986–2016. The results show the dynamic characteristics of grassland bush encroachment in low altitude areas(pastures 1500 m above sea level) of Ethiopia in the 30 year period studied. The results revealed several interesting features of this phenomenon.(1) The area of bush encroachment showed an increasing trend, with a maximum of 3.74×10^3 km^2 in 2003, which represented 68.97% of the total area, and declined slightly from 2003~2016.(2) Among classification types, the area of severe shrub grassland was the largest, accounting for 28.36–49.10% of the total area, while the area of moderate bush encroachment accounted for 9.77–16.68%, and slight bush encroachment accounted for 5.52–7.57%.(3) The expansion rate of shrubby grassland was 0.74% for the 30 year period, while the average annual expansion rate was 2.16% for the 8 years from 1995–2003.(4) Forest land and grassland were the two main land use types of shrub grassland transformation in low altitude areas and bush encroachment changed large amounts of forest land into grassland due to shrub grassland management. The results of this study provide basic data for revealing the impacts of development processes on subsequent bush encroachment and can inform better management for the sustainable development of grasslands in low altitude systems.