Long-term impacts of land-use change on dynamics of tropical soil carbon and nitrogen pools

Land-use changes, especially the conversion of native forest vegetation to cropland and plantations in tropical region, can alter soil C and N pools and N availability for plant uptake. Deforestation, followed by shifting cultivation and establishment of rubber tree plantation, is a common land-use change in Xishuangbanna, southwest China. However the influence of this kind of land-use change on soil C and N dynamics in this region remains poorly understood. This study was conducted to assess the effects of land-use change on soil C and N pools. Soil samples were collected on five adjacent plots, which belong to three land-use types including secondary forest-an acuminate banana(Musa itinerans) secondary forest and a male bamboo(Dendrocalamus membranaceae) secondary forest, shifting cultivation, and rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis (H.B.K.) Muell. Arg.) plantation(one plot is 3-year-old, and another is 7-year-old). We measured soil bulk density (BD), pH value, moisture content and concentrations of soil organic carbon(SOC), total soil nitrogen(TSN), and inorganic N(NO - 3-N and NH + 4-N ) at 0—3, 3—20, 20—40 and 40—60 cm depths, and calculated C and N pools in 0—20, 20—40, 40—60, and 0—60 cm soil layers. Compared with the adjacent secondary forests, shifting cultivation and establishment of rubber tree plantations resulted in significant decline in concentrations and stocks of SOC and TSN in 0—20 and 0—60 cm soil layers, and increase in pH and bulk density at 0—3, 3—20, and 20—40 cm depths. Soil moisture content decreased only in 0—20 cm surface soils in shifting cultivation and plantations. The dynamics of mineral N was much more complex, which had different trends among depths and ecosystems. Compared with the secondary forests, SOC stocks in 0—20 cm surface soils in shifting cultivation and rubber tree plantations(3-year-old plantation and 7-year-old plantation) decreased by 34.0%, 33%, and 23%; and TSN stocks decreased by 32 2%, 20.4%, and 20.4%, respectively, whereas the decreases of SOC and TSN stocks in 0—60 cm soil layers were much less. The results indicated that C and N losses were mainly occurred in 0—20 cm surface soil, followed by 20—40 cm layer.

Effect of land-use changes on chemical and physical properties of soil in western Iran(Zagros oak forests)

The consequence of land-use change from forest to agriculture and other uses has become one of the world’s greatest concerns.The soil,one of the most important components of forests and containing all the required plant nutrients as soluble ions,is highly impacted by these changes.Because vast areas of the Zagros forests in western Iran have changed in use during the last few decades,the present study investigated the effects of landuse changes of forest area to agriculture,orchard,and agroforestry on soil chemical and physical properties.Soil was sampled at four land-use areas:less-disturbed forest areas(control)and agricultural,orchard,and agroforestry areas.Among each of the two forest-use areas(agroforestry and orchard),we selected five trees with similar-sized crowns and sampled under each tree crown at 0-15 and>15-30 cm depths.Five soil samples also were taken in agriculture area at each depth.The findings indicated that during land-use changes,soil sand particles decreased,and clay and silt particles of soil increased,resulting in a fine soil texture.Moreover,the amount of nitrogen(N),phosphorus(P),organic carbon(OC),and electrical conductivity(EC)of soil decreased at both depths due to the decrease in organic matter.Soil pH and magnesium(Mg)level rose during land-use change at both depths except at agricultural sites.Soil potassium(K)content decreased during agricultural use due to the elimination of tree cover.The level of K decreased only at the depth of 0-15 cm because of K dependency on parent materials.Generally,most soil nutrients were affected by plant removal in the conversion.Forest and agricultural soil are distinguishable by their properties,while land-uses such as agroforestry-orchard separated from the others.Soil nutrients were severely affected by the decrease and elimination of tree cover,plowing,and continuous harvesting,resulting in a decline in soil quality and fertility.

Telecoupled land-use changes in distant countries

International food trade has become a key driving force of agricultural land-use changes in trading countries, which has influenced food production and the global environment. Researchers have studied agricultural land-use changes and related environmental issues across multi-trading countries together, but most studies rely on statistic data without spatial attributes. However, agricultural land-use changes are spatially heterogeneous. Uncovering spatial attributes can reveal more critical information that is of scientific significance and has policy implications for enhancing food security and protecting the environment. Based on an integrated framework of telecoupling （socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances）, we studied spatial attributes of soybean land changes within and among trading countries at the same time. Three distant countries -- Brazil, China, and the United States -- constitute an excellent example of telecoupled systems through the process of soybean trade. Our results presented the spatial distribution of soybean land changes-- highlighting the hotspots of soybean gain and soybean loss, and indicated these changes were spatially clustered, different across multi-spatial scales, and varied among the trading countries. Assisted by the results, global challenges like food security and biodiversity loss within and among trading countries can be targeted and managed efficiently. Our work provides simul- taneously spatial information for understanding agricultural land-use changes caused by international food trade globally, highlights the needs of coordination among trading countries, and promotes global sustainability.

Using classification assignment rules to assess land-use change impacts on forest biodiversity at local-to-national scales

Background： Ecosystem representation is one key component in assessing the biodiversity impacts of land-use changes that will irrevocably alter natural ecosystems. We show how detailed vegetation plot data can be used to assess the potential impact of inundation by a proposed hydroelectricity dam in the Mokihinui gorge, New Zealand, on representation of natural forests. Specifically we ask： 1） How well are the types of forest represented Locally, regionally, and nationally; and 2） How does the number of distinct communities （i.e. beta diversity） in the target catchment compare with other catchments nationally？ Methods： For local and regional comparisons plant species composition was recorded on 45 objectively located 400 m2 vegetation plots established in each of three gorges, with one being the proposed inundation area of the Mokihinui lower gorge. The fuzzy classification framework of noise clustering was used to assign these plots to a specific alliance and association of a pre-existing national-scale classification. NationaLly, we examined the relationship between the number of alliances and associations in a catchment and either catchment size or the number of plots per catchment by fitting Generalised Additive Models. Results： The four alliances and five associations that were observed in the Mokihinui lower gorge arepresent in the region but limited locally. One association was narrowly distributed nationally, but is the mostfrequent association in the Mokihinui lower gorge; inundation may have consequences of national importance to its long-term persistence. That the Mokihinui lower gorge area had nearly twice as many plots that could not be assigned to pre- existing alliances and associations than either the Mokihinui upper or the Karamea lower gorges and proportionally more than the national dataset emphasises the compositional distinctiveness of this gorge. These outlier plots in the Mokihinui lower gorge may be unsorted assemblages of species or reflect sampling bias or that native- dominated woody riparian vegetation is rare on the landscape. At a national scale, the Mokihinui catchment has a higher diversity of forest alliances and associations （i.e. beta-diversity） than predicted based on catchment size and sampling intensity. Conclusions： Our analytical approach demonstrates one transparent solution to a common conservation planning problem： assessing how well ecosystems that will be destroyed by a proposed land-use change are represented using a multi-scale spatial and compositional framework. We provide a useful tool for assessing potential consequences of land-use change that can help guide decision making.

Land-use Change and Ecological Footprint Analysis of Harbin City

Appraisaling the land-use change degree of urban land objectively, analyzing the reasons, and proposing the countermeasures have important meanings to promote land sustainable development. The article analyzed the dynamic change of land-use ecological footprint in Harbin City from 1996 to 2006. Through the measurement of ecological footprint to assess the social impact and the extent of sustainable land-use. The results showed that the per capita ecological footprint in Harbin had increased year by year, while the per capita ecological carrying capacity had decreased, the per capita ecological deficit was increasing, and land-use in Harbin City was in an overload status. Finally, reasonable land-use proposals were proposed.

A Methodology Framework for Regional Land-use Change Studies based on Landsat TM images: A Case Study in Northeast China

Land-use change is an important aspect of global environment change. It is, in a sense, the direct result of human activities influencing our physical environment. This paper analyzed the land-use change in Northeast China during 1985-2000 based on Landsat TM images. It divides Northeast China into five land-use zones based on the dynamic degree model of land-use: woodland/grassland-arable land conversion zone, dry land-paddy field conversion zone; urban expansion zone, interlocked zone of farming and pasturing and reclamation and abandon zone. The findings include the obvious increase of cropland area, paddy field and dry land increased by 75 and 276 thousand hm2 respectively; urban areas expanded rapidly, areas of town and rural residence increased by 76.8 thousand hm2; areas of forests and grassland decreased sharply with the amounts of 1399 and 1521 thousand hm2 respectively; areas of water body and unused land increased by 148 and 514 thousand hm2 respectively. This paper also discusses the

Spatial-temporal Patterns of Land-use Change in Typical Transect Area Along China National Highway 106 During 1996-2008

Based on land-use database updated with the survey of 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008, this paper analyzed the land-use changes in the typical transect area along National Highway 106 with the aid of GIS technology and quantitative models. The results showed that arable land had been continuously decreased from 1996 to 2008, with a loss of 65.85× 10^3 hm2 and an average decrement of 5.49×10^3 hm^2 per year, and the loss in northern areas was larger; garden land and woodland were gradually centralized to the predominance area with an increment of 25.73×10^3 hm2 and 22.37×10^3 hm2, respectively; residential and industrial land increased year after year, and the transportation land showed the equalized developing spatial pattern; the increment of construction land and encroachment on arable land in the area were deeply influenced by the national macroscopic land-use policies, the rapid advance of urbanization and the development level of the regional economy. Through this case study, it is suggested that differential land- use policies should be adopted to create good environmental conditions to guarantee food security and to promote the economic development.

Impact of Land-Use Changes on Sediment Load and Capacity Reduction of Lake Ziway, Ethiopia

Land-use change has been a factor that alters the hydrologic response of the watersheds leading to influencing on sediment yield changes. This study is mainly focusing on the assessment of the impacts of the land-use changes on sediment load and lake depth reduction on Lake Ziway, Ethiopia using an integrated approach of Remote Sensing (RS), GIS and SWAT model. ERDAS IMAGINE 14 model was used to generate land-use maps from Landsat TM, ETM+, and Ls8 acquired, in 1988, 2002 and 2015 as representative for the periods of (1988-1998), (1998-2008) and (2008-2018), respectively. The maximum likelihood algorithm of supervised classification applied to classify the basin land-use into seven land-use classes. The SWAT hydrological model with ArcGIS interface setup for the basin to evaluate the flow and sediment load with calibration and validation performance of the model range R2 (0.71 - 0.89) and NSE (0.57 - 0.87). As a result, the total average annual sediment yield from the sub-basins estimated as 3.59 t/ha/yr, 4.36 t/ha/yr, and 4.89 t/ha/yr for three consecutive decadal periods 1988-1998, 1998-2008, and 2008-2018 respectively. The increasing trend of sediment yield in the Lake Ziway watershed through one period to another justified as due to land-use. Similarly, the net sediment volume deposited in the lake also showed incremental trained with the land-use changes as 1.5 mcm/yr, 1.81 mcm/yr, and 2.033 mcm/yr for the period of 1988-1998, 1999-2008, and 2009-2018, respectively. The depth and water holding capacity of the lake reduced by 4.3 m and 25.76 mcm, respectively, from the depth and capacity recorded on the 2006 bathymetric survey, which was the effect of deposited sediment over the last 12 years.

Impact of Climate and Land-Use Changes on Water Security for Agriculture in Northern China

North China is the most important food basket of China, where the majority of wheat and corn are produced. Most crops grown in North China are irrigated, thus water security is food security. Since the 1980s, drying has been frequently observed, as shown by a reduction in precipitation, cutoff in riverflow, and shrinkage of lakes. This increase in drying cannot be explained by climate change alone. We propose that intensive land-use in this area in recent decades has had a significant impact. The objectives of the study are to develop a quantitative model of the concurrent processes of climate change and land-use in North China, and to estimate the relative contributions of each on the observed drying. We integrated relevant socioeconomic data, land-use data, and climate data in the model, and carried out a detailed multi-temporal （decade, year, day） analysis. Results showed that land-use has greatly changed since 1999. This change is mainly associated with an extremely important 1999 national policy of ＂returning farmland and grazing land to forest and grassland＂. We found an interesting interaction between climate change and land use policy on riverflow, runoff, and evapotranspiration. During 1970s and 1980s, climate change explained more than 80%, while the land-use change explained only 10% of the riverflow change. The relative contributions were 45 and 45% in the 1980s-1990s and 35 and 55% in the 1990s-2000s respectively for climate change and land-use change. Since the 1990s land-use change has also contributed more to runoff change than climate change. The opposite trend was found for changes in evapotranspiration. Water availability for agriculture in northern China is simultaneously stressed by extensive changes in land-use and rapid climate change. Adaptation of ecological principles, such as the ＂returning farmland/grazing land to forest and grassland＂ policy, and other adjustments of economic developmental strategies can be effective tools to mitigate the water shortage problem in northern China and promote sustainable agricultural and food development.

Land-Use Changes and Human Driving in and Near the Yangtze River Delta from 1995–2015

We analyzed the characteristics and trends of land-use change in and near the coastal zone of the Yangtze River Delta(YRD) during five periods(1995, 2000 2005, 2010, and 2015) using remotely sensed Landsat imagery. Using automatic supervised classification combined with visual interpretation, we obtained land-use information for five study areas(Nantong, Shanghai, Jiaxing, Ningbo, and Zhoushan). Significant land-use changes have occurred in this area between 1995 and 2015, characterized in particular by large reductions in cultivated land and rapid increases in urbanized land. In addition, land reclamation was very active in this period as an effective supplement to the increased demand for land development: since 1995, 1622 km^2 of land was reclaimed from near-coastal regions in the study area. This increase in urbanization was jointly driven by population, economic, transportation, and policy factors. Urban areas expanded from the center outward in concentric rings, with infrastructure guiding the radial expansion of development along transportation corridors, thus forming a network of connections. Due to the influence of national land regulation policies, the expansion rate of development in the YRD gradually diminished after 2010. This indicates that the area's resource and environmental carrying capacity has reached a saturation stage in which urbanization has transitioned from broad and incremental expansion to the intensive use of land resources.

Modeling the Impact of Land-Use Change on Water Budget of Gaza Strip

Gaza has a water crisis and faces serious challenges for the future sustainability of its water resources. Land-use change has an expected effect on water budget of the Gaza Strip. Three different land cover scenarios;the and cover of 2007, land cover of 2020, and full urbanization land cover were simulated independently using The Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) tool which work under the umbrella of GIS. In general, the simulation results indicate that land-cover changes will significantly alter the hydrologic response of Gaza region. Percolation is expected to decrease in all options as urban areas are expanded where as the simulated surface runoff reflected a relative departure from the first scenario comparing with other scenarios. In the baseline scenario (2007), the simulated surface runoff and percolation represent 12% and 41% respectively from the water budget components of the Gaza Strip. In year 2020, these values were expected by the simulation results to be 20% and 27% respectively. A unique linear relationship between the relative change in urban area and the corresponding relative change in surface water has been investigated from the simulation results. The analysis of the three urbanization scenarios can give decision makers better understand for the future situation and assist them to advance towards achieving sustainable development planning for water resources system in the Gaza Strip.

Opportunity Costs of Emissions Caused by Land-Use Changes

Amid the euphoria of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) and REDD+ discussions, the expectations of large financial gains raise the interest of all. A country, however, will only enjoy REDD benefits if the cost of REDD is lower than the benefit. The opportunity cost analysis is an effective tool for assessing the feasibility of REDD+ since the largest portion of costs associated with REDD+ and can help to identify fair compensation for those who change their land use. The opportunity cost analysis has been exercised in Tanjung Jabung Barat (Tanjabar) district-Indonesia to examine the economic-feasibility of carbon emission reduction under different type carbon price scenarios. This study reveals a sharp decline of land-use systems with high carbon-stock and low profitability is obvious. On mineral soil, low carbon-stock and high profitability (mostly oil palm) has increased rapidly, especially in the period 2000-2009. It has become the dominant land-use system. The low-to-medium carbon stock and medium profitability land-use category increased from 1990 to 2005 but declined from 2005 to 2009. The low carbon-stock and low profitability category was constant and the proportion of the area was below 15%. The ex-ante analysis in predicting the potential for future emissions reduction in Tanjabar through REDD+ approaches shows that the cumulative emission of Tanjabar in 2020 is estimated at 61.91 Mg CO2-eq/Ha.Year, while the reduced emission by excluding all land use conversion below $5 threshold is estimated at 51.71 Mg CO2-eq/Ha.Year. This means that there is a potential for 16% emission reduction using $5/ton CO2-eq incentive. Another important finding in this study is that if the price of carbon increases by double to $10, the amount of reduced emission does not change much. This can use as a basis for determining the right amount of incentive for trade-off between economic profitability and climate change mitigation effort in Tanjabar using REDD+ scheme both at seller and buyer perspectives.

Land-use change and carbon stocks: A case study, Noor County, Iran

Land-use changes and land cover strongly influence carbon stock and distribution within ecosystems. Changing the land-use from natural forest to other land-uses has been more rapid in the past few decades than at any time in Iran＇s history. In this study, we investigated the effects of changing the land-use from natural forest to other land-uses on carbon stocks in northern Iran. We selected five sites for this study： （I） a natural forest, （II） an agricultural field and （III） plantations of three different species （Alnus subcordata .L, Acer velutinum .Boiss and Cu- pressus sempervirens）. We examined the effects of land-use changes on： （I） soil carbon stock （0-50 cm depth）, （II） biomass and carbon content of grassy vegetation and litter and （III） above- and below-ground biomass C in trees. Soil C stock was higher under A. velutinum and C. sempervirens whereas it was lower under A. subcordata and agricultural sites. Biomass and C content of grassy vegetation were significantly higher at A. veluti- num and C. sempervirens plantations. However, litter biomass and C content were significantly higher at the natural forest site. Natural forest had the highest amount of C content in above- and below-ground bio- mass. Total ecosystem C stocks declined following land-use changes.

Effects of climate change and land-use changes on spatiotemporal distributions of blue water and green water in Ningxia, Northwest China

Water resources are a crucial factor that determines the health of ecosystems and socio-economic development;however,they are under threat due to climate change and human activities.The quantitative assessment of water resources using the concept of blue water and green water can improve regional water resources management.In this study,spatiotemporal distributions of blue water and green water were simulated and analyzed under scenarios of climate change and land-use changes using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT)in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region,Northwest China,between 2009 and 2014.Green water,a leading component of water resources,accounted for more than 69.00%of the total water resources in Ningxia.Blue water and green water showed a single peak trend on the monthly and annual scales during the study period.On the spatial scale,the southern region of Ningxia showed higher blue water and green water resources than the northern region.The spatiotemporal distribution features of blue water,green water,and green water flow had strong correlations with precipitation.Furthermore,the simulation identified the climate change in Ningxia to be more influential on blue water and green water than land-use changes.This study provides a specific scientific foundation to manage water resources in Ningxia when encountered with climate change together with human activities.

Land-use changes in the small watershed of the Loess Plateau,hilly-gully region, China

As more and more farmland is converted to forestry, the need for effective decision support regarding the use of land in the fragile ecological environment of the Loess Plateau hilly-gully area. The Luoyugou watershed was chosen as the study area to calculate the single dynamic degree, integrated dynamic degree, and change indexes of land use, as well as the land-use type transition matrix. This was done by interpreting the TM and SPOT images of the Luoyugou watershed in 1986, 1995, and2004 and making statistical analysis. The results of ou statistical analysis show that the conversion of slope farm land to terrace and forest land plays a dominant role in land-use changes in the Luoyugou watershed from 1986 to2004. The land-use changes are mainly driven by popula tion growth, socio-economic development, consume spending, and investment in forest ecology.

Monitoring Land-Use Change in Nakuru (Kenya) Using Multi-Sensor Satellite Data

Recently land-use change has been the main concern for worldwide environment change and is being used by city and regional planners to design sustainable cities. Nakuru in the central Rift Valley of Kenya has undergone rapid urban growth in last decade. This paper focused on urban growth using multi-sensor satellite imageries and explored the potential benefits of combining data from optical sensors (Landsat, Worldview-2) with Radar sensor data from Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) data for urban land-use mapping. Landsat has sufficient spectral bands allowing for better delineation of urban green and impervious surface, Worldview-2 has a higher spatial resolution and facilitates urban growth mapping while PALSAR has higher temporal resolution compared to other operational sensors and has the capability of penetrating clouds irrespective of weather conditions and time of day, a condition prevalent in Nakuru, because it lies in a tropical area. Several classical and modern classifiers namely maximum likelihood (ML) and support vector machine (SVM) were applied for image classification and their performance assessed. The land-use data of the years 1986, 2000 and 2010 were compiled and analyzed using post classification comparison (PCC). The value of combining multi-temporal Landsat imagery and PALSAR was explored and achieved in this research. Our research illustrated that SVM algorithm yielded better results compared to ML. The integration of Landsat and ALOS PALSAR gave good results compared to when ALOS PAL- SAR was classified alone. 19.70 km2 of land changed to urban land-use from non-urban land-use between the years 2000 to 2010 indicating rapid urban growth has taken place. Land-use information is useful for the comprehensive land-use planning and an integrated management of resources to ensure sustainability of land and to achieve social Eq- uity, economic efficiency and environmental sustainability.

Spatial assessment of forest cover and land-use changes in the Hindu-Kush mountain ranges of northern Pakistan

Anthropogenic activities and natural processes are continuously altering the mountainous environment through deforestation, forest degradation and other land-use changes. It is highly important to assess, monitor and forecast forest cover and other land-use changes for the protection and conservation of mountainous environment. The present study deals with the assessment of forest cover and other land-use changes in the mountain ranges of Dir Kohistan in northern Pakistan, using high resolution multi-temporal SPOT-5 satellite images. The SPOT-5 satellite images of years 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013 were acquired and classified into land-cover units. In addition, forest cover and land-use change detection map was developed using the classified maps of 2004 and 2013. The classified maps were verified through random field samples and Google Earth imagery(Quick birds and SPOT-5). The results showed that during the period 2004 to 2013 the area of forest land decreased by 6.4%, however, area of range land and agriculture land have increased by 22.1% and 2.9%, respectively. Similarly, barren land increased by 1.1%, whereas, area of snow cover/glacier is significantly decreased by 21.3%. The findings from the study will be useful for forestry and landscape planning and can be utilized by the local, provincial and national forest departments; and REDD+ policy makers in Pakistan.

WISE EXPLOITATION OF NEWLY GROWING LAND RESOURCES——An Assessment on Land-use Change of Chongming Island Using GIS

Chongming Island, the third largest island in China and the largest alluvial island in the world, is situated in the north of Shanghai Municipality at the mouth of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River. Along the fertile and prosperous sea coast there are a total area of over 120×103ha, with a population of 735 0 00, accruing some 500ha of new tidal land resources come from silt, sand and mud carried by the Changjiang River every year, extending about 140m per year. This dynamic process of alluvial growth has run for some 1500 years. Mudflat on Chon gming Island at the mouth of the Changjiang River is a resting ground for migrat ory birds and host more than a hundred species, including rare cranes and geese. But the local people keep reclaiming the tidal land for economic development. O bviously, it is crucial to have a well-concerted plan for future exploitation. In this study, we attempted to investigate the status changes of land use and wi ld life habitats on Chongming Island in recent 10 years, and then analyzed diffe rent human activities and their effects on wild life habitats using satellite im age data (1990, 1997 and 2000) as well as field survey. Based on the analysis, t his study explored the relationships between island growth and land use/cover ch ange (LUCC), predicted what the habitat would be like in the future and tried to find more effective use of this new growing resource. At last, this study provi ded some preliminary management plans for Chongming Island that will coordinate the development of local economies and the conservation of wild life and their h abitats.

STUDY ON THE SPATIAL PATTERNS OF LAND-USE CHANGE AND ANALYSES OF DRIVING FORCES IN NORTHEASTERN CHINA DURING 1990-2000

Land-use change is an important aspect of global environment change.It i s,in a sense,the direct result of human activities influencing our physical environment.Supported by the dynamic serving system of nation al resources,including both the environment data base and GIS technology,this paper a nalyzed the land-use change in north eastern Chi-na in the past ten years(1990-2000).It divides northeastern China into five land-use zones based on the dynamic de-gree(DD)of land-use:woodland /grassland -a rable land conversion zone,dry land-paddy field conversion zone,ur-ban expansion zone,interlocked zon e of farming and pasturing,and recla mation and abandoned zone.In the past ten years,land-use change of northeastern China can be generalized as follo ws:increase of cropland area was obvious,pad-dy field and dry land increased by 74.9and 276.0thousand ha respectively;urban area expanded rapidly,area o f town and rural residence increased by 76.8thousand ha;area of forest and grassland decreased sharply with the amo unt of1399.0and 1521.3thousand ha respec tively;area of water body and unused land increased by 148.4and 513.9thou-sand ha respectively.Besides a comp rehensive analysis of the spatial patterns of land use,this paper also di scusses the driving forces in each land-use dynamic zones.The study shows that some k ey biophysical factors affect consp icuously the conversion of different land-use ty pes.In this paper,the relationship s between land-use conversion and DEM,accumulat-ed temperature(≥10℃)and precipitation were analysed and represented.We conclude that the la nd-use changes in north-east China resulted from the change o f macro social and economic factors a nd local physical elements.Rapid population growth and management changes,in so me sense,can explain the shaping of woodland /grassland -cropland conve rsion zone.The conversion from dry land to paddy field in the dry land -paddy fie ld conversion zone,apart from the ph ysical elements change promoting the expan sion of paddy field,results from two reasons:one is that the implementation of mar-ket-economy in China has given farme rs the right to decide what they plant and how they plant their crops,the other fac-tor is originated partially from the change of dietary habit with the social and economic development.The con version from paddy field to dry land is caused prim arily by the shortfall of irrigation water,which in turn is caused by poor water alloca-tion managed by local governments.T he shaping of the reclamation and abandoned zone is partially due to the la ck of environ-ment protection consciousness amon g pioneer settlers.The reason for th e conversion fromgrassland to cropl and is the relative-ly higher profits of farming than that of pasturing in the interlocked zon e of farming and pasturing.In northeastern China,the rapid expansion of built-up areas results from two factors:the first is its small number of towns;the second comes from the huge potential for expansio n of existing towns and cities.It is n oticeable that urban expansion in th e northeastern China is characterized by gentle top ographic relief and low population d ensity.Physiognomy,transportati on and economy exert great influences on the urban e xpansion.

Land-use Change and Socio-economic Driving Forces of Rural Settlement in China from 1996 to 2005

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.