JOURNAL OF NANJING FORESTRY UNIVERSITY ›› 2020, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (3): 185-194.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1000-2006.201903079

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Spatial⁃temporal evolution of landscape pattern in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin from 1995 to 2015

JIA Yanyan1(), TANG Xiaolan1,2(), TANG Fanglin3(), YANG Yang1   

  1. 1.College of Landscape Architecture, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
    2.NFU Academy of Chinese Ecological Progress and Forestry Development Studies, Nanjing 210037, China
    3.Plan and Research Center for National Park, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Kunming 650216, China
  • Received:2019-03-31 Revised:2019-08-31 Online:2020-05-30 Published:2020-06-11
  • Contact: TANG Xiaolan,TANG Fanglin E-mail:jiayanyan1011@163.com;398887917@qq.com;646245043@qq.com

Abstract: Objective

Revealing the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics of landscape pattern in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin quantitatively could provide a basis for further optimizing the landscape pattern and protecting the ecological environment of the Yangtze River.

Method

Utilizing the land-use data for 1995, 2005 and 2015, supported by ArcGIS10.2, Fragstats 4.2 and other software, landscape index, landscape dynamic degree, and transfer matrix were comprehensively applied to analyze the landscape pattern changes of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River at different spatial-temporal scales in combination with geomorphic features.

Result

From 1995 to 2015, the landscape structure of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River changed significantly. The area of cultivated land, forest land and grass land in the study area decreased, while the area of wetland and construction land increased. However, forest land and cultivated land were the dominant landscapes, accounting for more than 49% and 33%, respectively. The change rate of construction land and cultivated land in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River was significantly higher than that in the middle reaches. In terms of geomorphic types, more than 43% cultivated land, more than 82% wetland, and more than 64% construction land in the study area were concentrated in the plain; on the plain, human activities were the most intense and the contradiction between human and land was prominent. The hilly and mountainous areas were dominated by forest land, grass land and other natural landscapes, but the impact of human activities was also gradually deepening. The dynamic changes of cultivated land, forest land, construction land and wetland were obvious. From 1995 to 2005, the area of cultivated land transformed into construction land and wetland was 3 440.15 km2 and 1 705.11 km2, respectively, mainly concentrated in the plains. From 2005 to 2015, 5 747.13 km2 of cultivated land and 1 432.52 km2 of forest land were converted into construction land, mainly concentrated in the plain, platform and hilly areas. The analysis of landscape pattern index showed that the degree of landscape fragmentation of cultivated land and forest land increased, and that of wetland and construction land decreased. The connectivity of construction land increased, tending to gather and spread together. Between 1995 and 2015, the contagion index (CONTAG) and aggregation index (AI) of the study area decreased, while the edge density (ED), Shannon’s diversity index (SHDI) and Shannon’s evenness index (SHEI) increased continuously, indicating that the landscape heterogeneity increased and landscape pattern tended to be complicated.

Conclusion

In the past 20 years, the landscape pattern of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin has changed significantly, with obvious regional differences and increasing human interference. Therefore, the intensity of human activities must be controlled in a targeted way.

Key words: landscape pattern, landscape index, spatial-temporal evolution, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River

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