Remote sensing monitor and simulation prediction of cultivated and woody land changes for Three-gorges reservoir region

With the progress of the Three Gorges Project, the change of eco-environment and the influence of urbanization on ecosystem in the reservoir region have attracted worldwide attention. The information of land-use/cover in two phases (1992 and 2002) was extracted through the object-oriented methods. The dynamic characteristics of cultivated and woody land changes were analyzed. Based on the SLEUTH model, the process of urbanization and associated land-use/cover change were simulated in the Chongqing region. The influence of urbanization on cultivated and woody land in future was analyzed. The results showed that cultivated land decreased, while woody land increased during the 10 years. Meanwhile, the proportion of cultivated land with larger 25 degree and of forest decreased, and Urban and built-up land extended sharply. The results of simulation showed that urban would expand slower in future decades, and new spreading centers had occurred. Hence, the cultivated and woody land would decrease continually. In the currently activity intension, the trend of cultivated and woody land would decrease obviously. The results will offer the foundation of decision-making for the local eco-environment construction and the urban development.