POPULATION DISTRIBUTION PATTERN CHANGES AND ITS REASONS OF HUBEI PROVINCE FROM 1982 TO 2010

Based on census data,we investigated the changes of population distribution pattern and its reasons of Hubei Province from 1982 to 2010,using spatial analysis methods.The results showed as follows.(1)The population distribution of Hubei Province presented significant spatial differences.At a regional scale,there appeared a population gradient in the population distribution from east to west,and the gradient gap was expanding.At a city scale,Wuhan had always been the city with the highest population density,Shen-Nong-Jia,En-Shi,Shi-Yan and Yi-Chang had always been the cities with the lowest.At a county scale,the population distribution pattern was basically stable.Population density of the counties was lower in western Hubei mountainous area,but was higher in Jiang-Han Plain and Plains along the Yangtze River.And population density polarization was obvious,population of the ultrahigh population density area and the high population density area was getting more and more intensive.At a provincial scale,regions with high population density had a situation of tripartite confrontation in a long-term trend,and the gravity center of population had always been located at the east of the geometric center,and it continued to migrate to the east area.(2)The reasons of the population distribution pattern of Hubei Province were multi-faceted.First,physical geography difference was the determinant.The population density had a weak positive correlation with annual average sunshine hours and annual average temperature,but had an obvious negative correlation with altitude and gradient.Secondly,social-economic development reshaped the population distribution on the base of nature reasons,and the population density had a significant positive correlation with economic density.Thirdly,regional strategies played a guiding role in the population distribution changes.It was obvious that the changes of high population density area were affected by regional development policies.Last but not least,the development history had also affected the layout in a certain extent.Most of the early development areas had always been the densely populated areas.On the contrary,sparsely populated areas were mostly developed later.For instance,the western mountains of Hubei was the latest development area which also had the lowest population density.