LAND USE CHANGES AND ITS DRIVING FACTORS: A CASE STUDY IN NANPING CITY, CHINA

Changes in land use affect the living environment of humans, considering even the survival and development of human beings. Study on the driving mechanism of land use plays a vital role in the accurate prediction of the changing trends of land use, and sustainable development of land. In this study, the Landsat images in Nanping City from 1995, 2010 and 2015 were obtained and processed using ENVI 5.2 and Arcgis 10.1. Object-oriented classification was used as the land use classification in this study. Transition matrix was used to study the characteristics, directions and structures of land use changes. The driving factors that led to the land use changes were studied using qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis (principal component analysis). The results showed that the forestland increased greatly and the cultivated land decreased significantly over the 20 years. Population, economy, urban development, policy, spending power, and technical factors were the drivers of the land use changes. The impact of comprehensive factors on the land use changes gradually increased with time.