Land-use/land-cover changes in the Yellow River basin

A system combining remote sensing and GIS provides much higher efficiency and objectivity at lower cost than traditional methods for monitoring dynamic land use changes. Remote sensing was combined with a GIS to investigate the land-use/land-cover changes in the Yellow River basin. The land-use/land-cover data was abtained from LANDSAT TM Images using expert interpretation. A mathematical methodology was developed to analyze the land use changes. The method included a dynamic land use model, a land use changes model, a land use gravity-center model, and a land use transition model. These land use change models were used to analyze the land-use/land-cover changes in the Yellow River basin in recent ten years. The result shows that the grassland and forestland area gradually decrease while the cultivated land, built-up land and unused land area increase in the part ten years. Human activity is the main driving force for the land-use/land-cover changes in Yellow River basin.