ARS | Publication request: Spatiotemporal Urban Land Use Changes in the Changzhutan Region of Hunan Province in China

Submitted to: International Journal of Geographical Information Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: February 18, 2013
Publication Date: N/A

Interpretive Summary: In rapidly developing nations, appreciable land use conversions are taking place as the area changes from a rural agricultural to an industrial society. In assessing these changes and in addressing land use development for economic and social purposes, relationships must be developed which make it possible to estimate monetary values and to guide land use policies. This paper examines land use changes in the Changzhutan Region of Hunan Province in China during the 1990-2007 period, in which China experiences tremendous economic changes, as it went from an almost strictly agricultural society to a preeminent industrial society., with large changes in the type and value of different land use being cropland, forestland, grassland, urban-rural industrial land and open water bodies. The article employs a land use dynamic degree relationship, which expresses the time rate of change of land use conversions among the various types for a given area. It also uses a relationship which reflects quality values for the different land use types and, thus, has the capability of estimating changes in the economics of land use. This methodology and approach has the potential usefulness for landowners to select combinations of land use and cropping systems to maximize economic returns.

Technical Abstract: The Changzhutan region in the north-central part of Hunan Province in China has experienced a rapid urbanization in the past few decades that has led to substantial changes in its environment. In 2007, the National Development and Reform Commission of China designated the metropolitan district of Changsha City, Zhuzhou City, and Xiangtan City of this region as the fourth National Demonstration Area where economic development should be implemented in harmony with resource-saving and environment-friendly land use practices. The research focus of this article will be on quantifying the spatial pattern of urban land use change which not only can provide an assessments and predictions of future environmental effects but also will serve as a scientific basis for the development of urban sustainability. This paper integrates historical Landsat TM imagery, geographical information system (GIS) and socioeconomic data to determine the spatiotemporal urban land use dynamics and conversion of land use in response to the rapid urbanization of a select group of cities in China from 1990 to 2007. The approach is based on Principle Component Analysis to determine and model the relationship between the socioeconomic factors and land use/cover change (LUCC) for identifying the driving forces. The results indicate that land cover of the Changzhutan region mainly consists of forestland and cropland which accounted for about 93% of the total land area. During the 1990-2007 study period, the urban areas and water bodies increased by 46297 ha and 775 ha, respectively, while forestland, cropland, and grassland decreased appreciably by 22580 ha, 21808 ha, and 5618 ha, respectively. Moreover, the urban land area during the 2000-2007 period increased by five times as much as that during the 1990-2000 period. The land use dynamic degree of Changsha City is the largest one followed by that for Xiangtan and Zhuzhou Cities. During this study period, the land use comprehensive intensity index increased and followed the sequence Xiangtan > Changsha > Zhuzhou. The changes were attributed to economic development, population growth, infrastructure improvements and construction, and land use policies. To address the negative or eco-environmental deleterious effects of these changes, landscape ecology plan, population growth control, and the development of an ecological friendly agriculture were suggested.