Land use and landscape pattern changes in Nanjing during 1988–2007

Land use and landscape pattern changes were analyzed in Nanjing during 1988-2007, based on RS, GIS and Fragstats software. This city was divided into six regions to explore the detailed variations of land use and landscape pattern in the regions. Landscape pattern were investigated at both landscape level and at class level, by way of various landscape metrics. The results revealed that urban area increased dramatically, while farmland declined, though in diverse extent. Generally landscape pattern tent to be less fragmented, yet more complex in most regions at landscape level. At patch class level, changes of landscape in six regions were not quite consistent.