SITUATION ANALYSIS AND PROSPECT OF LAND USE IN HUBEI PROVINCE, CHINA

The actual areas of various types of land, especially cultivated land,in Hubei Province had long been indefinite. This paper analyzes the quantity and quality of land and situation of land use in Hubei Province based on data from the last three surveys and statistical yearbooks, and rebuilds the actual cultivated land area of Hubei in the past years according to the surveyed data in 1996. Result of this study shows that the actual area of cultivated land is generally 1.4～1.5 times of the data listed in statistical yearbooks, but this does not mean an increase in the area of the cultivated land the actual quantities and producing capabilities of the cultivated land remain the same as before. As a whole, the land quality of the province is descending because of the aggravation of soil erosion and land pollution, and the decrement of high quality cultivated land. There are also some serious problems of land use in this area. The land use is neither rational in structure nor adequate in profit. The land occupation of residential district expands too fast. At the end, the author looks forward to the situation of land resources, especially the cultivated land,in the early period of 21st Century. The data of the paper can be used as a basis for planning of land use and evaluation of land carrying capacity of Hubei Province.