Evaluating Landscape Changing due to Urbanization Using Remote Sensing Data: A Case Study of Shijiazhuang, China

By gradient analysis of landscape elements using remote sensing, this paper studied the spatial pattern of urbanization of Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China. Several landscape indices and class level were calculated in Fragstats with a moving window on two land use maps derived from remote sensing images along two transects of 64 km times 6 km, 66 km times 6 km wide, respectively. The result showed landscape along the urban-rural transition of Shijiazhuang was compositionally diverse, geometrically complex, and ecologically fragmented. The spatial patterns of different land use were not uniform along gradient, the fragmentation and diverse indices in urban center presented relative lower compared to fringes and surburbs. While, the center of urban became more fragmented and diverse temporally due to effects of trees and grasses, as well as increasing water area, resulting in more irregular shapes. Landscape metrics indicated that landscape types have unique characteristics spatially and temporally.