Rates and patterns of change in two contrasting oasis agricultural landscapes in Xinjiang, China

Abstract

We used Landsat TM imagery and GIS to quantify the rates and patterns of landscape change of two different oasis ecosystems transects --- Fukang oasis and Yutian oasis in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, P. R. China. Human dimension is a major disturbance agent throughout the area and desert-oasis ecotone is also important. Maximum likelihood classification of satellite imagery identified landscape class types and changes among the landscape mosaics in two transects. Rate and pattern of the spatial and temporal of landscape change in two oases agricultural landscapes were detected at class and landscape level. The resulting landscape changes have a multitude of consequences; for agricultural production, landscape aesthetics, recreational and amenity values of the landscape, and for biodiversity. Results show that further intensification of the intensively managed landscape has led to an increasingly homogeneous, large-scale landscape featuring fewer boundaries. In contrast, reduced management in the oasis-farm system has resulted in an increasingly heterogeneous, small-scale landscape. The main pattern and key factors of dynamic changes of oasis-desert heterogeneity with frequent human’s activities especially land use were discussed. Because land use changes are triggered by socioeconomic forces in two oases, a through comprehension of historical change will enhance our capability to predict future landscape dynamics and devise effective landscape management strategies.