Changes of the spatial and temporal characteristics of land-use landscape patterns using multi-temporal Landsat satellite data: A case study of Zhoushan Island, China

Abstract

The research on the changes of the spatial and temporal characteristics of land-use landscape patterns can deeply insight the movement of the Earth's surface by human activities, natural factors, and biological factors in time and space. This paper uses Landsat data for eight periods from 1984 to 2020 to explore the spatial and temporal characteristics of the land-use landscape pattern. First, the remotely sensed data were pre-processed. Then, the supervised classification was performed using the maximum likelihood-based method to obtain the information about the land-use and land cover changes in the study area, and an accuracy evaluation was carried out. Finally, the analysis of gravity center movement for the land-use type landscape pattern was carried out. The research results show that the construction land increased from 18.19 km2 in 1984 to 115.97 km2 in 2020. The forest land decreased from 205.72 km2 in 1984 to 194.39 km2 in 2020. The water bodies increased from 5.51 km2 in 1984 to 12.60 km2 in 2020. The mudflats decreased from 19.24 km2 in 1984 to 13.73 km2 in 2020. The cropland/grassland decreased from 210.98 km2 in 1984 to 203.87 km2 in 2020. The bare land decreased from 19.05 km2 in 1984 to 6.09 km2 in 2020. The average annual change area of the construction land, forest land, water bodies, mudflats, cropland/grassland, and bare land were 2.72 km2, −0.31 km2, 0.20 km2, −0.15 km2, −0.20 km2, and −0.36 km2, respectively. The average annual change rates of the construction land, forest land, water bodies, mudflats, cropland/grassland, and bare land were 5.28%, −0.16%, 2.33%, −0.93%, −0.10%, and −3.12%, respectively. The moving distance of gravity center of the construction land, forest land, water bodies, mudflats, cropland/grassland, and bare land were 2.98 km, 0.20 km, 2.38 km, 3.32 km, 0.98 km, and 8.39 km, respectively. The spatial distribution continuity and regional coordination of the construction land was significantly enhanced. The continuity of the spatial distribution of the forest land was continuously maintained at a high level. The spatial distribution of the water bodies was highly discrete. The continuity of the spatial distribution of the mudflats decreased. The spatial distribution and morphological features of the cropland/grassland tended to be discrete. The spatial continuity of the bare land increased. This research provides valuable dataset and gives insights for regional sustainable development planning and ecological assessment in Zhoushan Island, China.