Landscape pattern evolution along terrain gradient in Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, China.

Terrain is an important factor in land landscape pattern change. To reveal the spatial and temporal characteristics and variation of landscape pattern along a terrain gradient, we used three remote sensing images and digital elevation model (DEM) data of Fuzhou in 1995, 2005 and 2015 to investigate the topographic gradient effect of landscape pattern and the cause of formation based on terrain index, land use distribution index, geo-informatics map analysis and landscape index. The results showed that forestland was mainly distributed in middle-low, middle-high and higher level terrain, while farmland, water body, construction land and unused lands were mainly distributed in the low rank terrain.