Characterizing Spatiotemporal Pattern of Land Use Change and Its Driving Force Based on GIS and Landscape Analysis Techniques in Tianjin during 2000–2015

The spatial and temporal characteristics and driving factors analysis of regional land use are the core scientific problems in the research of ecological environment and human sustainable development. It is also an important basis for the government to formulate land management policy. Based on the land use maps of 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015, this article analyzed the spatiotemporal pattern of land use change in Tianjin, and determined the relative importance of each driving factor of land use change. The main features of land use change were the continuous expansion of built-up land (1386.89 km2/74.73% gains) and the decrease of arable land area (1181.60 km2/16.84% losses). The area and intensity of land use change were not completely consistent, such as Wuqing and Jixian. The hotspots of land use change mainly were located in the main urban region in Tianjin, around the suburban settlements and Binhai New Area. The landscape pattern in the research region has also changed significantly. The Largest patch index (LPI) and largest shape index (LSI) of arable land showed an increasing trend, and the degree of landscape fragmentation of arable land was deepened. The trend of landscape index of built-up land was similar to that of arable land, but the change intensity was more severe. In addition, the article also used the stepwise regression analysis in the multiple regression to analyze the relative importance of various driving factors, indicating that the driving factors of the built-up land and arable land change were obviously different in different periods. Government policies also have a significant impact on land use change, such as establishing the Tianjin Binhai New Area (TBNA).