Land use changes in Baishan city of Jilin province, China based on temporal trajectory analysis method

Abstract

Land use/cover change which is one of the most sensitive indicators that echo the interactions between human activities and natural environment, has become a core issue in the global environmental change and sustainable development disciplines. In this study, we applied temporal trajectory analysis method to detect land use/cover changes in Baishan city. The available satellite imageries are Landsat TM/ETM+ images covered the study area in 1986–2006. All trajectories were classified into three types, namely, unchanged, human-induced changes, natural changes. The results show that: human-induced changes have reached 88.33% in all changed classes in Baishan city during past 20 years. Grassland→Unused land→Unused land, Cropland→Cropland→Water body, Grassland→Grassland→Water body are typical natural changes trajectories, while Forest→Forest→Cropland, Cropland→Cropland→Residential/Construction land, Forest→Forest→Unused land, Forest→Grassland→Grassland are typical human-induced changes trajectories. The study can provide basic data of land resources and help to understand the human impact on the temperate forest ecosystem better.