Abstract
Urbanization in China is progressing rapidly and continuously, especially in the newly developed metropolitan areas. The Google Earth Engine (GEE) is a powerful tool that can be used to efficiently investigate these changes using a large repository of available optical imagery. This work examined land-cover changes in the central region of the lower Yangtze River and exemplifies the application of GEE using the random forest classification algorithm on Landsat dense stacks spanning the 30 years from 1987 to 2017. Based on the obtained time-series land-cover classification results, the spatiotemporal land-use/cover changes were analyzed, as well as the main factors driving the changes in different land-cover categories. The results show that: (1) The obtained land datasets were reliable and highly accurate, with an overall accuracy ranging from 88% to 92%. (2) Over the past 30 years, built-up areas have continued to expand, increasing from 537.9 km2 to 1500.5 km2, and the total area occupied by built-up regions has expanded by 178.9% to occupy an additional 962.7 km2. The surface water area first decreased, then increased, and generally showed an increasing trend, expanding by 17.9%, with an area increase of approximately 131 km2. Barren areas accounted for 6.6% of the total area in the period 2015–2017, which was an increase of 94.8% relative to the period 1987–1989. The expansion of the built-up area was accompanied by an overall 25.6% (1305.7 km2) reduction in vegetation. (3) The complexity of the key factors driving the changes in the regional surface water extent was made apparent, mainly including the changes in runoff of the Yangtze River and the construction of various water conservancy projects. The effects of increasing the urban population and expanding industrial development were the main factors driving the expansion of urban built-up areas and the significant reduction in vegetation. The advantages and limitations arising from land-cover mapping by using the Google Earth Engine are also discussed.
Highlights
The urbanization of the contemporary world is continuously increasing, especially in developing countries, where urbanization is progressing at an unprecedented rate and scale
(3) The complexity of the key factors driving the changes in the regional surface water extent was made apparent, mainly including the changes in runoff of the Yangtze
Along with the development of industrialization and urbanization, population and wealth are further concentrated in large cities, and new urban spatial organization forms have gradually emerged, such as a megalopolis [1], metropolitan area (MA), mega-urban region, and urban agglomeration [2]
Summary
The urbanization of the contemporary world is continuously increasing, especially in developing countries, where urbanization is progressing at an unprecedented rate and scale. Along with the development of industrialization and urbanization, population and wealth are further concentrated in large cities, and new urban spatial organization forms have gradually emerged, such as a megalopolis [1], metropolitan area (MA), mega-urban region, and urban agglomeration [2]. Since the reform and opening up of China in 1978, the process of urbanization has accelerated [3], and increasingly more MAs have emerged. With the constant expansion of MAs in China, the built-up area has increased dramatically, which inevitably has had a major impact on other land-use/land-cover (LULC) categories for limited land resources. China’s per capita cultivated land was much less than the average level of the world in 2012 [4], and the shortage of urban water resources was increasingly prominent [5]
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