THE SPATIAL COUPLING OF LAND USE CHANGE AND ITS ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ON BOSTEN LAKE BASIN, XINJIANG

Changes in land use and land cover are among the most important key issues in global change research. This study takes China's largest inland freshwater lake Bosten Lake Basin, in the arid region of Northwest China as its research area. Based on land use/cover classification data derived from the Landsat TM imageries in 1990, 2000, and 2010, as well as governmental socioeconomic statistics, we investigate land use/cover change (LUCC) in the Bosten Lake Basin from 1990 to 2010 and analyze its environmental effects. The results are as follows: (1) In the period 1990-2010, land area devoted to cultivation, residential and industry area increased, while forestland and grassland decreased. In particular, cultivated land saw significant growth as high as 67.6%. (2) Over the designated 20-year time-span, integrated index, information entropy and balanced degree all increased in the study area. This reflects an increasing instability in the land use system as well as instability of the oasis, which then poses a threat to the ecological security of the Tarim River. (3) From 1990 to 2010, the value of ecosystem services in the study area dropped. The services were valued at it 21.48 x 10(8) RMB in 2010, a value decrease of 7.84% since 1990. A development model that consumes large amounts of water and has a decreased ecosystem services value should seriously be reconsidered.