Analyzing Spatial Pattern of Land Use in Liling City based on DEM
基于DEM的醴陵市土地利用空间格局分析

Based on remote sensing image, land-use map, topographic map, geomorphologic map and other materials from field survey, the study analyzed the spatial pattern of land use and the relationship between land use and topography in Liling city by creating DEM, geomorphologic zoning, and altitude classification. The results showed that: 1) The area of forestland, which is distributed all over the mountain area or foot of the hill, occupied 54.7% of the total. The area of paddy field, which is distributed on the valley plain under the altitude of 200m, accounted for 25.7% of the total. Rural settlement place located on the foot of the hill or on the valley plain is the third largest land use type, accounting for 7.7. The area of the dry land, orchard, industrial land, water bodies and unused land occupied 3.3%, 1.7%, 0.8%, 4.3% and 2.1% respectively; 2) Spatial distribution of land use types is characterized by strong area differentiation. There are different land use types associated with geomorphologic zoning and altitude classification. Even though it is the same land use type, the spatial distribution is diversified in different geomorphologic sub-area and altitude sub-zone. Also, the interrelationship of land use types and altitude showed a significant correlation. With the rise of altitude, the area of forestland increased, but the area of cultivated land, orchard, settlement, industrial land, water body, and unused land decreased; 3) Terrain is the primary factor affecting land use spatial pattern in Liling. In addition, human activities have a strong influence on the spatial distribution of land use. In high altitude area, forestland is the dominant land use type and the degree of human intervention is relatively weak there. In low altitude area, the intensity of land use is strong and land use types are changed frequently; 4) Three-dimension visualization technology was used to display intuitively the land use spatial pattern and the interrelationship of land use distribution and environment in the study area, Which makes supports to decision making in adjustment of agricultural structure and sustainable utilization of land resources.