| Landuse change and driving factors in the Xi'an-Xianyanq urban areas，Northwest China |
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| DOI：10.7606/j.issn.1000-7601.2011.02.34 |
| Key Words: remote sensing landuse change driving factor Xi’an-xianyang urban areas |
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| Abstract: |
| Urbanization has significant effects in densely populated China. The increasing extent of urban built-up
areas and the associated land use and land cover change (LULCC) are among major factors in considerations for resources and environmental management，in particular in ecologically fragile regions such as the western China. To better under-stand the urbanization process of the Xi’an Xianyang urban areas，we documented land cover changes between 1988，1995, and 2006 using Landsat remote sensing data，identified the socioeconomic factors driving the changes，and re-vealed the spatial pattern of change between the two cities. The research indicates that LULCC between the three time periods involved major transitions of land from agriculture to urban classes. Urban land cover of the Xi an-Xianyang region increased during 1988~2006， while the agriculture and forest lands decreased. Analyses of socioeconomic data sug-gest that the change of household size, such as reduced number of occupants per household, has been a significant factor that affected urban land expansion. This involves the increased demands of the amount of land and materials and promot-ed the urbanization process. |