Landscape pattern change and driving forces analysis in Shenyang and Benxi connection area, China

Research studies aimed at integrating socio-economic and geo-bio-physical factors are increasingly used in order to improve our understanding of the causes and effects of landscape change and to support sustainable landscape development. The study reported in this paper addresses landscape change and driving forces of landscape change in the area of Shenyang and Benxi connection area (SBCA), China. Based on the remotely sensed images, statistic data of local government and field survey, we first studied the landscape pattern change with the approach of landscape metrics and cross-tabulation. Then using the multivariate statistics method of Principal component analysis (PCA), we analyzed the driving forces of landscape change of study area from 1988 to 2004. The results showed that the area of forest land and paddy decreased, and the rural settlement and urban land increased correspondingly. Due to anthropogenic disturbances, the landscape fragmentation of the study area aggravated with increasing number of patches and complexity of landscape shape. Based on the results of PCA analysis, the landscape changes were mainly driven by the forces of population increasing and economic development.