Analysis of farmland fragmentation in China Modernization Demonstration Zone since "Reform and Openness": a case study of South Jiangsu Province.

Farmland is a fundamental resource for human survival and development. However, farmland fragmentation has become a serious problem, causing ecological damage and low crop production efficiency in many parts of the world. Based on remote sensing and socioeconomic data, we used landscape pattern indices, Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA), and Markov chain models to analyze the temporal and spatial pattern changes in farmland in South Jiangsu Province (the first "Modernization Demonstration Zone" in China) during 1985-2010.

Impacts of LUCC on soil properties in the riparian zones of desert oasis with remote sensing data: a case study of the middle Heihe River basin, China.

Large-scale changes in land use and land cover over long timescales can induce significant variations in soil physicochemical properties, particularly in the riparian zones of arid regions. Frequent reclamation of wetlands and grasslands and intensive agricultural activity have induced significant changes in both land use/cover and soil physicochemical properties in the riparian zones of the middle Heihe River basin of China. The present study aims to explore whether land use/land cover change (LUCC) can well explain the variations in soil properties in the riparian zones of the middle Heihe River basin.