Study on the Trend and Driving Factors of Cultivated Land Area Change in Liaoning Province

The macro-trend of cultivated land area change in Liaoning province during the period from 1949 to 2005 was analyzed on the statistical data.The driving factors affecting the cultivated land area change in the province were quantitatively analyzed by with principal component analysis method.The conclusions were as follows:①The cultivated land area change in Liaoning province had experienced 3 stages since recent 57 years,i.e.,the enlargement,slow reduction and fluctuated reduction.②After the analysis,it was found that there were 10 driving factors affecting the cultivated land area change in three aspects:a.the synthetic effect of social,economic,scientific and technological factor;b.soil conservation program and c.natural hazards factors.The study results can provide the scientific basis for rationally use and effectively protect the cultivated lands and for achieving the sustainable development of regional agriculture in the province.