Changes of Landscape Patterns along the Yellow River in Henan Province from 1987 to 2002

As a basis for conservation management, sufficient information about landscape structure should be provided. In the present study, we reconstructed the former landscape structurel and elucidated the changes in landscape patterns during a period of about 15 years. We used a landsat-5 image (1987) and a landsat-7 image (2002) for analyses. The frequency index, landscape diversity index and landscape fragmentation index and distribution centroid were calculated for analyses. By using GIS and remote sensing techniques, the paper discussed how nature and human activities have changed landscape patterns along the Yellow River in Henan Province. The results showed that within the study area, the irrigable land was the dominant landscape type. From 1987 to 2002, the area of the river, irrigable land, forest and beach landscape types presented a decreasing trend while the area of landscape types of pools, paddy field, dry land and construction land presented an increasing trend. The total number of the landscape patches tended to decrease. With the intensification of human activities, landscape diversity index increased and landscape fragmentation index decreased; and the differences among the proportion of each landscape type decreased and the landscape diversity increased.