Spatial Distribution Characteristics of Land Use in the Mid. Himalaya Mountain Area

Land use/cover change has increasingly become a core issue in both land resources research and management. The Mid. Himalaya mountain area involves several discontinuous valleys,The problems of land use in this area are closely related to living level promotion of local habitants as well as social economic development. being short of accurate land resource material. Satellite images covering four typical valleys located in the Mid. Himalaya mountain area were collected from Google Earth Planet Map. The four valleys from the east to the west are: Pengqu Valley, Rongxia Valley, Boqu Valley, and Gyrong Valley. The authors investigated mountain altitudinal belts and slope gradients of soil types of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with the objective to obtain the spatial distribution characteristics of farmland and grassland across the study area. The altitude index was divided into five categories, i.e., 2500 m, 2500~3800 m, 3800~4800 m, 4800~5200 m, 5200 m of the mountain altitudinal belts; and the slope gradient index was divided into four ranges, i.e.,5°, 5~15°, 15~35°, and 35° of soil types of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Conclusions were drawn that 1) there is no farmland below 2200 m altitude. The land use is determined primarily by the slope gradient in the altitude range of 2500 m. 2) It is in the altitude range of 2500~3800 m and on the two belts of the farming suitable slope gradient (5°, 5~15°) that the very focus zone has relatively larger potential, suitability, and yield of farming utilization. 3) It is in the altitude range of 3800~4800 m that grasslands dominate and the slope gradient plays an insignificant role. 4) On three belts of the grazing suitable slope gradient (5°, 5~15°, and 15~35°), respective fodder quantities for the four valleys have small differences. 5) Comparison among the four valleys indicates that the Gyrong Valley has the most available lands, followed by the Pengqu Valley, Boqu Valley, and Rongxia Valley. In addition, the land use of the four valleys are significantly determined by altitude and slope gradient so that cultivation and grazing activities take place widely on the belts of the farming unsuitable slope gradient (15~35°, 35°) and the belt of the grazing unsuitable slope gradient (35°), which seems to be disadvantageous to environmental protection and reasonable utilization of land resources. The conclusions unravel current situations of land resources utilization and configuration in the Mid. Himalaya mountain area, which is of importance to explore the relationships among resources, environment, and society.