Land Use and Landscape Dynamics in a Rural Area

Changing pattern of land/land cover were studied in Nanhua State Farmin the southern China from1972 through 1995.Land covermaps of three periods (1972,1985,1995) with scale of 1:20 000,derived fromaerial photographs and field surveys,were collected.Land cover categories (or patch types) were digitized by using digital instrument with the assistant of Geographic Information System(GIS).Landscape patterns were quantified by using some indices andmeasures.Patch types and numbers were increased from1972 to 1985,then declined form1985 to 1995.Higher dominance and lower diversity and evenness characterized the landscape spatial pattern in 1972.In 1985,landscape pattern was greatly changed with high diversity and fragmentation.Up to 1995,some patch types has disappeared,and the declining trend of diversity and dominance displayed.By quantifying the spatial and temporal patterns of land cover change,an attempt wasmade to show how the landscape in rural area was controlled by social and economic development strategies.