Lanalysis on Land Use Change and Its Driving Factors in Ecological Fragile Region—A Case Study in Zhangye City

Abstract

Based on the detailed survey data of land use change during the period from 1996 to 2006,this paper analyzes the area structure,degree and regional difference of land use change in Zhangye City,an ecological fragile region in the central Hexi Corridor of Gansu Province,China.The results show that the range and degree of land use change are quite large,the areas of farmland,steppe and unused land are reduced,but those of garden plots,woodland and building land are enlarged.Furthermore,the land use degree is holistically increased,in Minle County,for example,the proportion of farmland area is as high as 26%.Regional difference of land use change is obvious,for example,the relative change rate of farmland in Minle County is 3.32,but it is only 0.18 in Gaotai County.The land desertification,soil salinization or alkalization and biodiversity reduction become more serious.The main driving factors of land use change are changes of the natural conditions,policy,economic development,population variation,urbanization and technological innovation.