Socioeconomic Drivers of Spatio-temporal Land Use/land Cover Changes in a Rapidly Urbanizing Area of China, the Su-xi-chang Region

The rapid economic development resulting from Chinese economic reform has greatly accelerated urbanization and industrialization, thus leading to alterations in the natural landscape. Understanding the extent of these changes is important for regional sustainable land management. An integrated approach with a geographic information system and remote sensing was used to extract land use/land cover (LULC) change information for the Su-Xi-Chang region over the period of 1980 to 2010. To calculate the dimensions of fragmentation and to observe changes in spatial patterns, FRAGSTATS was used. Major drivers were determined through bivariate statistical analysis of socioeconomic data sources. Three change matrices were constructed for detecting LULC changes from 1980 to 1990, 1990 to 2000, and 2000 to 2010. In the study period, farmland, water bodies and wetlands significantly decreased. However, construction land, grassland and woodlands increased considerably. The pattern and composition of the landscape exhibited significant fragmentation for the whole area. Socioeconomic analysis showed that population growth and economic development, urbanization and subsequent construction land expansion, and industrialization were the major socioeconomic drivers of LULC changes. Changes in farmland resulted in decreases in area and production that might impair ecological functions and decrease food production. Therefore, better land use policy would address the consequences of the loss of the natural landscape due to drastic socioeconomic drivers in the region. Further research along these lines should be encouraged, because additional studies will be helpful for the decision makers engaged in planning activities at various levels.