Land use and landscape pattern change in Hetao Irrigation District, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Based on land use data of 1985 and 2000 in Hetao Irrigation District, land use change and landscape pattern change were analyzed. With the GIS software ArcINFO and ArcView, the character, rate and processes of land use change were analyzed. The changes of landscape metrics were analyzed using the landscape structure analysis program FRAGSTATS. The results showed that arable land and grassland remained the main land use in 15-year period. Land degradation was very serious, and 26.9% of dense grassland were degraded to mid-density grassland and some sparse grassland were turned into bore land. The soil salinization mainly occurred in farmland. The landscape change showed that landscape fragmentation process and landscape diversity are increased and patch shape is dicpersed. Five counties (cities) had their own landscape dynamics. The change of landscape pattern in Linhe city and Hangjin Hou County were most active, which was the same as the result of spatial difference of land use change.