Spatio-Temporal Evolution and Driving Factors of Landscape Pattern in a Typical Hilly Area in Southern China: A Case Study of Yujiang District, Jiangxi Province

Abstract

As the most intuitive manifestation of land use/land cover change, the spatio-temporal evolution of landscape patterns has significant implications for optimizing regional landscape pattern and land use management. Based on multi-period remote sensing data, we selected an optimal scale (570 m) and used the geographic detector model to analyze the spatio-temporal changes in the landscape pattern of a typical hilly area (Yujiang District, Yingtan City, Jiangxi Province) in southern China. The results showed that from 2009 to 2018, the area of urban land, other construction land, rural residential land, and cultivated land expanded by 33.27%, 21.23%, 19.42%, and 1.07%, respectively. In contrast, the area of grassland, forest land, and water area shrank by 18.18%, 5.41%, and 2.19%, respectively, over the past 10 years. At the landscape level, the patch shape became more complex over time, with increased landscape fragmentation and diversity. At the class level, cultivated land, forest land, and grassland tended to be fragmented, whereas rural residential land exhibited an aggregation tendency. Slope gradient, gross regional product, and distance from major highways had a strong ability to explain the spatial differences in landscape pattern change. The results of this study enable a dynamic understanding of landscape pattern evolution in typical hilly areas in southern China and provide a reference for landscape pattern optimization in similar geomorphic settings.