Spatiotemporal Changes of Farming-Pastoral Ecotone in Northern China, 1954–2005: A Case Study in Zhenlai County, Jilin Province

Yuanyuan Yang, Shuwen Zhang, Dongyan Wang, Jiuchun Yang and Xiaoshi Xing
Additional contact information
Yuanyuan Yang: College of Earth Science, Jilin University, 2199 Jianshe Street, Changchun 130061, China
Shuwen Zhang: College of Earth Science, Jilin University, 2199 Jianshe Street, Changchun 130061, China
Dongyan Wang: College of Earth Science, Jilin University, 2199 Jianshe Street, Changchun 130061, China
Jiuchun Yang: Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy Sciences, 4888 Shengbei Street, Changchun 130102, China
Xiaoshi Xing: Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Earth Institute, Columbia University, P.O. Box 1000 (61 Route 9W), Palisades, NY 10964, USA

Sustainability, 2014, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-22

Abstract: Analyzing spatiotemporal changes in land use and land cover could provide basic information for appropriate decision-making and thereby plays an essential role in promoting the sustainable use of land resources, especially in ecologically fragile regions. In this paper, a case study was taken in Zhenlai County, which is a part of the farming-pastoral ecotone of Northern China. This study integrated methods of bitemporal change detection and temporal trajectory analysis to trace the paths of land cover change for every location in the study area from 1954 to 2005, using published land cover data based on topographic and environmental background maps and also remotely sensed images including Landsat MSS (Multispectral Scanner) and TM (Thematic Mapper). Meanwhile, the Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient derived from economic models were also used to study the land use structure changes to gain a better understanding of human impact on this fragile ecosystem. Results of bitemporal change detection showed that the most common land cover transition in the study area was an expansion of arable land at the expense of grassland and wetland. Plenty of grassland was converted to other unused land, indicating serious environmental degradation in Zhenlai County during the past decades. Trajectory analysis of land use and land cover change demonstrated that settlement, arable land, and water bodies were relatively stable in terms of coverage and spatial distribution, while grassland, wetland, and forest land had weak stability. Natural forces were still dominating the environmental processes of the study area, while human-induced changes also played an important role in environmental change. In addition, different types of land use displayed different concentration trends and had large changes during the study period. Arable land was the most decentralized, whereas forest land was the most concentrated. The above results not only revealed notable spatiotemporal features of land use and land cover change in the time series, but also confirmed the applicability and effectiveness of the methodology in our research, which combined bitemporal change detection, temporal trajectory analysis, and a Lorenz curve/Gini coefficient in analyzing spatiotemporal changes in land use and land cover.

Keywords: spatiotemporal changes; land use and land cover change; land use structure; sustainable use of land resources; farming-pastoral ecotone; northern China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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