Land Use/Land Cover Change and Their Driving Factors in the Yellow River Basin of Shandong Province Based on Google Earth Engine from 2000 to 2020

Jian Cui,Jian Li,Yong Liang,Mingshui Zhu,Guangjiu Qin,Yaohui Liu

doi:10.3390/ijgi11030163

Abstract

As the convenient outlet to the Bo Sea and the major region of economic development in the Yellow River Basin, Shandong Province in China has undergone large changes in land use/land cover (LULC) in the past two decades with rapid urbanization and population growth. The analysis of the LULC change patterns and its driving factors in the Shandong section of the Yellow River Basin can provide a scientific basis for rational planning and ecological protection of land resources in the Shandong section of the Yellow River Basin. In this manuscript, we analyzed the spatial pattern of LULC and its spatial and temporal changes in the Shandong section of the Yellow River Basin in 2000, 2010, and 2020 by using the random forest classification algorithm with the Google Earth Engine platform and multi-temporal Landsat TM/OLI data. The driving factors of LULC changes were also quantified by the factor detector and interaction detector in the geodetector. Results show that in the past two decades, the LULC types in the study area are mainly farmland and construction land, among which the proportion of farmland area has decreased and the proportion of construction land area has increased from 19.4% to 29.7%. Based on the results of factor detector, it can be concluded that elevation, slope, and soil type are the key factors affecting LULC change in the study area. The interaction between elevation and slope, slope and soil type, and temperature and precipitation has strong explanatory power for the spatial variation of LULC change in the study area. The research results can provide data support for ecological environmental protection, sustainable, and high-quality development of the Shandong section of the Yellow River Basin, and help local governments take corresponding measures to achieve coordinated and sustainable socioeconomic and environmental development.

Highlights

Land is the basis for human survival and development, and an information source to explain the interaction between human activities and ecological environment
land use/land cover (LULC) change is the result of multiple factors, and this manuscript quantitatively analyzed the driving forces of social and natural factors on LULC change based on geographic probes and found that topography-related factors such as elevation and slope are the main driving factors affecting LULC change in the study area
The results show that from 2000 to 2020, the land type in the study area was mainly cultivated land, followed by construction land, forest land, and grassland

Summary

Introduction

Land is the basis for human survival and development, and an information source to explain the interaction between human activities and ecological environment. Land is the most basic natural resource and material basis for human survival and development [1], and land use/land cover (LULC) change is a process to determine the change in surface land use information according to multiple observation data in different periods [2]. With the development of global society and economy, LULC change will further intensify. This will produce great pressure on the structure and function of the ecosystem and the provision of ecosystem services [6]. Studying LULC change and analyzing its driving factors is conducive to the rational planning and utilization of land resources, and can provide a scientific basis for the coordinated and sustainable development of regional economy and natural environment

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion