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Spatial patterns and driving forces of land use change in China during the early 21st century

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Abstract

Land use and land cover change as the core of coupled human-environment systems has become a potential field of land change science (LCS) in the study of global environmental change. Based on remotely sensed data of land use change with a spatial resolution of 1 km × 1 km on national scale among every 5 years, this paper designed a new dynamic regionalization according to the comprehensive characteristics of land use change including regional differentiation, physical, economic, and macro-policy factors as well. Spatial pattern of land use change and its driving forces were investigated in China in the early 21st century. To sum up, land use change pattern of this period was characterized by rapid changes in the whole country. Over the agricultural zones, e.g., Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, the southeast coastal areas and Sichuan Basin, a great proportion of fine arable land were engrossed owing to considerable expansion of the built-up and residential areas, resulting in decrease of paddy land area in southern China. The development of oasis agriculture in Northwest China and the reclamation in Northeast China led to a slight increase in arable land area in northern China. Due to the “Grain for Green” policy, forest area was significantly increased in the middle and western developing regions, where the vegetation coverage was substantially enlarged, likewise. This paper argued the main driving forces as the implementation of the strategy on land use and regional development, such as policies of “Western Development”, “Revitalization of Northeast”, coupled with rapidly economic development during this period.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing, 100101, China

    Jiyuan Liu, Xinliang Xu & Wenhui Kuang

  2. Institute of Remote Sensing Applications, CAS, Beijing, 100101, China

    Zengxiang Zhang

  3. Chengdu Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, CAS, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Wancun Zhou

  4. Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, CAS, Changchun, 130012, China

    Shuwen Zhang

  5. Wuhan Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics, CAS, Wuhan, 430077, China

    Rendong Li

  6. Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, CAS, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Changzhen Yan

  7. Nanjing Institute of Soil Science, CAS, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Dongsheng Yu

  8. Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, CAS, Urumqi, 830011, China

    Shixin Wu

  9. Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, CAS, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Nan Jiang

Authors
  1. Jiyuan Liu
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  2. Zengxiang Zhang
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  3. Xinliang Xu
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  4. Wenhui Kuang
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  5. Wancun Zhou
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  6. Shuwen Zhang
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  7. Rendong Li
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  8. Changzhen Yan
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  9. Dongsheng Yu
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  10. Shixin Wu
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  11. Nan Jiang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jiyuan Liu.

Additional information

Foundation: National Basic Research Program of China, No.2009CB421105; National Key Technology R&D Program, No.2006BAC08B00, Knowledge Innovation Program of the CAS, No.KSCX1-YW-09-01

Author: Liu Jiyuan (1947–), Professor, specialized in remote sensing of natural resources and environment, land use and cover change (LUCC) and ecological effect at macro-scale.

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Liu, J., Zhang, Z., Xu, X. et al. Spatial patterns and driving forces of land use change in China during the early 21st century. J. Geogr. Sci. 20, 483–494 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-010-0483-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-010-0483-4

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