Population growth, urban sprawl and landscape integrity of Beijing City

Abstract

The detailed landscape pattern of the urban area within the 6th ring road in Beijing City was identified using airborne remote sensing data acquired between 1997 and 2002. The landscape indices at landscape level were computed using Fragstats 3.3, and changes in land use/cover types in Beijing from 1997 to 2002 were examined. The results show that urban built area (UBA) and farmland changed greatly within the 6th ring road, and that farmland had been replaced by UBA. The number of patches increased by 106.6%, mean patch area decreased by 51.6%, the splitting index increased by 94.3%, and the landscape diversity index increased by 17.8%. The landscape pattern had become more fragmented and diversified in these 5 years. The main driving forces for landscape change were the increasing demand for land for construction due to the growing population, unreasonable urban growth, and improvements in housing standards. The landscape pattern change in Beijing led by rapid urbanisation has negatively influenced urban ecosystem health and has caused several environmental problems. We provide suggestions for improving urban planning and sustainable development in Beijing City.