Spatial-Temporal Pattern and Driving Forces of Land Use Changes in Xiamen*'

Home , Huli District, Jimei District, Siming District

Pedosphere 16(4): 477-488, 2006 ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P @ 2006 Soil Science Society of China Published by Elsevier Limited and Science Press

QUAN Bin', CHEN Jian-Fei2, QIU Hong-Lie3, M. J. M. ROMKENS4, YANG Xiao-Qi5, JIANG Shi-Feng5 and LI Bi-Cheng' 'Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Mi- nistry of Education, Northwest Sci-tech University of Agriculture and Forestry, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100 (China). E-mail: [email protected]. cn 2School of Geographical Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510405 (China) Department of Geography and Urban Analysis, California State University, Los Angeles 90032-8253 (USA) USDA/ARS, National Sedimentation Laboratory, P.O.Box 1157, Oxford, MS 38655 (USA) 5School of Sciences, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021 (China) (Received August 11, 2005; revised February 14, 2006)

ABSTRACT Using Landsat TM data of 1988, 1998 and 2001, the dynamic process of the spatial-temporal characteristics of land use changes during 13 years from 1988 to 2001 in the special economic zone of Xiamen, China was analyzed to improve understanding and to find the driving forces of land use change so that sustainable land utilization could be practiced. During the 13 years cropland decreased remarkably by nearly 11 304.95 ha. The areas of rural-urban construction and water body increased by 10152.24 ha and 848.94 ha, respectively. From 1988 to 2001, 52.5% of the lost cropland was converted into rural-urban industrial land. Rapid urbanization contributed to a great change in the rate of cropland land use during these years. Land-reclamation also contributed to a decrease in water body area as well as marine ecological and environmental destruction. In the study area 1) urbanization and industrialization, 2) infrastructure and agricultural intensification, 3) increased affluence of the farming community, and 4) policy factors have driven the land use changes. Possible sustainable land use measures included construction of a land management system, land planning, development of potential land resources, new technology applications, and marine ecological and environmental protection.

Key Words: driving force, GIs, land use change, remote sensing, Xiamen

INTRODUCTION

Land use and land cover are prominent ecological symbols within the surface system of the earth. Land use refers to human manipulation of the land to fulfill a need or want. Meanwhile, land use change may involve either a shift to a different use, such as from rice paddy to aquaculture, or an expansion and intensification of an existing form, such as from subsistence to commercial farming (Matson et al., 1997). Land cover, defined as the physical surface condition of the land, is likely to change as a result of land use change (Turner and Meyer, 1991). Furthermore, land use influences the environment mainly by land cover, and thus land use and land cover are inter-related. Land use/cover change (LUCC) is a core project of the International Global and Biology Plan (IGBP). It aims to improve understanding of the global dynamics of LUCC with a focus to improve the ability to project such change (Turner et al.; 1997). More and more people believe that it is a timely project to comprehensively assess the global environmental changes (Liu and Buhe, 2000a). LUCC studies the changes of natural land, socio-economic conditions, and human activities. Therefore, it requires the cooperation of natural and social sciences to link LUCC to global change (Turner, 1994). LUCC revolves around core problems of regional population, resources, environment, and development. Since the 199Os, the study of LUCC has been a subject of intense interest in academic circles. In recent years, some researchers have made great progress in LUCC studies (Meyer and Turner, 1996; Luo and

*lProject supported by the Fujian Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (No. D0210010). 478 B. QUAN et al.

Ni, 2000; Shi et al., 2002). However, few studies have been done to date in the southeastcrn part of Fujian Province, which experienced major economic development during the past 20 years. Currently, the rate of conversion of agricultural land in the southeastern coastal area of China to non-agricultural uses is increasing (Liu et al., 2003). Consequently, there is a need for more research in the southeastern Fujian Province, where rapid development has led to swift changes in land use patterns. In this work, land use spatial changes during 1988, 1998, and 2001 in Xiamen were studied using remote sensing (RS) and geographical information system (GIS) tools. The characteristics and rules of land use changes and their driving forces were analyzed quantitatively through models, which provided a scientific basis for decisions in regional resource and coordinated environmental development, whilst offered a typical case in land use change in one of China’s “hot spots” of economic development.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Survey of region

Xiamen, with an area of 1638 km2, is located in the southeastern part of Fujian Province, facing the Taiwan Straits. It has a southern subtropical monsoon climate, an annual mean temperature of 20.8 “C,and an annual precipitation of 1143.5 mm. The natural vegetation is a southern-subtropical monsoon rainforest, but human activities have destroyed most of this. Masson Pine (Pinus massoniana Lamb.) and Taiwan Acacia (Acacia confusa Merr.) have been planted in the upland and bottom flat land, under which a lateritic red soil has developed over time (Quan et al., 2004b and 2005a). In 2001, Xiamen consisted of seven administrative districts including Siming, Kaiyuan, Gulangyu, Huli, Jimei, Xinglin, and Tong’an Districts with a total population of 1.31 million. When China began a policy of opening up to the world, Xiamen became one of the first four special economic zones because of its advantageous location. Since then the economy developed rapidly.

Data and classification

Land use data were obtained from Landsat satellite images from 1988 to 1998 and 2001 with a spatial resolution of 30 m x 30 m. In addition, maps of Xiamen’s vegetation distribution, Xiamen City remote sensing images, Xiamen administrative district (2004), and land use etc. were collected for image-interpretation. Land resource investigation data (1988-2001) were also gathered for consultation. Two grades were established for the land use classification system. The first grade was divided into six classes: cropland (l),orchard (2), forestland (3), rural-urban industrial land (4), water body (5) and unused land (6). The second grade was divided into 12 classes with the following names and codes: paddy field (ll),dry land (12), orchard (21), forest (31), urban, town and separated industrial land (41), rural land (42), salt field (43), reservoir (51), other water bodies (52), coastal beach (53), barren land (61), and other unused land (62).

Procedures

For land use data and conversions from 1988 to 2001, first Landsat TM images of three different periods were acquired, and then the GCP (ground control points) works module of Canadian PCI software was applied for making geometric corrections. More than forty ground control points were selected as references on a topography map of scale 1:50000. The Gauss-Kruger projection, which belonged to a kind of transverse equal-angle cylindrical projection, was used to correct images with its projection parameter as follows: central longitude 117”, Krassovsky ellipsoid, and false easting 500 km (Chang, 2002; Chen et al., 1998). Color composites were generated displaying bands 5, 4 and 3 as red, green and blue, respectively. An image enhancement was performed to increase the visual distinction between features in order to increase the amount of information that can be visually interpreted from the data. After image enhancement, based on field investigations, image interpretation LAND USE CHANGE IN XIAMEN 479 symbols of different image elements were added. A global positioning system (GPS) receiver was used to collect the coordinates of sample sites. Additionally, the land use map of 1996 was digitized in GIS ArcView software before image-interpretation. This could be consulted in the process of person- machine alternating visual operations. The land use types were interpreted visually in the screen based on the TM images. Also, some additional errors were corrected based on auxiliary reference data and fieldwork. In the end, the smallest plot on the interpreted map corresponded to a scale of 1:100000, and field checking verified the accuracy of image interpretation of up to 90%. To determine the rate of land use change, the study period 1988-2001 was divided into two sub- periods and the land use changes of the two sub-periods were compared. The first sub-period was from 1988 to 1998, called the earlier stage, and the second sub-period was from 1998 to 2001, called the later stage. The comparative analysis on land use change focused on the two sub-periods. Regional difference in land use characteristics were determined using the land use dynamic degree model that could be mathematically expressed by the following relationship (Liu and Buhe, 2OOOb):

where S is the land use change rate over time t, Si is the ith type land use area at the beginning of the monitoring period, n is the number of the land use type, and ASi-j is the total area of the ith type land use that is converted into the other types of land use. The land use dynamic degree was thus defined as the time rate change of land use that was converted into the other types of land uses and that at the beginning of the monitoring period was part of the land use area subject to change. The dynamic degree represented, in a comprehensive manner, the change of land use in a given region. In order to understand the rate of regional land use changes and their characteristic differences, the land use dynamic degree was calculated for the administrative districts in Xiamen. The seven administrative districts were divided into three groups on the basis of the value of the land use dynamic degree. The first group belonged to the fast mode of land use change, in which the land use dynamic degree was from 25% to 40%. The second group belonged to the moderate mode of land use change where the dynamic degree was from 12% to 25% (including 25%), and the third group belonged to the slow mode with the dynamic degree from 8% to 12% (including 12%). After each group was encoded, the regional distribution map for the land use dynamic degree was made using GIS ArcView software. Regional differences in the rate of land use change were determined with the rate of land use change model as follows (Liu and He, 2002):

where S is the rate of the ith type land use change during the monitoring period TI to Tz; Ai is the area of the ith type land use at the beginning of the monitoring period; and UAi is the area of the ith type land use that remains unchanged during this monitoring period. (Ai - UAi) is the changed land area during the monitoring period, ie. the total area of the ith type land use converted into the other types of land use; Thus, this model represented the time rate of change for one type of land use that was converted into another type of land use relative to the land use situation at the beginning of the monitoring period. Regional differences in the land use intensity comprehensive index were calculated using the mathe- matical expression given by the following relationship (Lai et al., 2002; He et al., 2002):

n I = 100 x C(Gix Ci) (3) i=l where I is the land use intensity comprehensive index; G; is the gradation value of the ith ranking land use type; Ci is the area percentage of the ith ranking land use intensity; and n is the number of land 480 B. QUAN et al. use grade. The land use degree change parameter (AIb-,) that expressed the change in the intensity index of land use was given by:

where Ib and I, are land use intensity comprehensive indexes at time point b and a, respectively. These relationships were comprehensive representations of land use intensity. If the parameter AIb-, > 0, the land use is continuely developing in the region; on the contrary, the land use is regressing. Land use can be divided into several rankings according to their change intensity to natural “equi- librium status” (Wang and Bao, 1999). In the gradation index system, unused land was assigned the factor 1; forest and water body were factor 2; agricultural land, including cropland and orchard, was factor 3; and rural-urban industrial land was factor 4. So, the calculation represented the range and intensity of land utilization (Wang et al., 2002). To determine the driving forces of cropland change a comparison of the Landsat acquired data was made with the statistical data obtained from the Land Resource Survey Office. The statistical data of the Xiamen cropland area for each year and the corresponding social-economic data were also collected and analyzed. The social-economic data included general population, total agricultural output value, GDP, etc. There were 23 indexes and the data sets covered each year for the 1988 to 2001 study period. The information was calculated on the basis of no change in the prices from 1990. Then a correlation analysis was conducted between cropland and the other factors to assess cropland change. Driving forces of other land use types were also analyzed to help develop strategies for sustainable development.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Land use data and conversions from 1988 to 2001

The spatial-temporal land use changes in Xiamen are shown in Table I and Fig. 1. The data indicated that three land use types increased while three decreased from 1988 to 2001. Rural-urban industrial land had the largest increase with 10 152.24 ha followed by orchard with 1635.84 ha (Table I). Due to hydro-technical construction projects, water body increased by 848.94 ha on the whole while coastal beach land decreased by 2 139.07 ha (Fig. 1). Among the land types, cropland decreased by 11 304.95 ha, while forest and unused land decreased by 727.90 and 604.15 ha, respectively (Table I).

TABLE I Area and percent for six land use types in 1988, 1998 and 2001 and land use changes from 1988-1998, 1998-2001, and 1988-2001 in Xiamen

~ ~ ~ ~~~ Land 1988 1998 2001 Land use change use tvDea) Area percent Area percent Area percent 1988-1998 1998-2001 1988-2001 ha % ha % ha % ha 1 44898.02 28.17 34322.73 21.54 33593.07 21.08 -10575.29 -729.66 -11304.95 2 23825.36 14.95 25344.82 15.90 25461.19 15.98 1519.46 116.38 1635.84 3 63989.38 40.15 63457.86 39.82 63261.48 39.70 -531.52 -196.38 -727.90 4 12159.47 7.63 21556.09 13.53 22311.71 14.00 9396.62 755.62 10152.24 5 11855.21 7.44 12693.75 7.97 12704.15 7.97 838.54 10.39 848.94 6 2629.15 1.65 1981.34 1.24 2025.00 1.27 -647.81 43.66 -604.15

”)1 stands for cropland; 2 for orchard; 3 for forest; 4 for rural-urban industrial land; 5 for water body; and 6 for unused land.

Land use conversion was common among the various types. About 52.5% of the cropland area lost was converted into rural-urban industrial land, and 27.9% and 16.6% were converted into orchard and water bodies, respectively (Table 11). During the study period, many paddy fields were converted to rural-urban industrial use, orchard, reservoir, and hydro-technical construction sites. In addition, part LAND USE CHANGE IN XIAMEN 481

L m -15 1 11 12 21 31 41 42 43 51 52 53 61 62 Land use type

Fig. 1 Net changes of land use in Xiamen from 1988 to 2001 with paddy field (ll), dry land (12), orchard (21), forest (31), urban, town and separated industrial land (41), rural land (42), salt field (43), reservoir (51), other water body (52), coastal beach (53), barren land (61), and other unused land (62). The number in the parenthesis respresents the ranking code of land use type of the second grade according to the land use classification system.

of the orchard area was converted into cropland and rural-urban industrial land. However, the total orchard area increased because of conversions from cropland (62.9%) and forest (20.8%), respectively. About 50.8%of the forest land lost was converted into orchard. Rural-urban industrial land and cropland made up the rest of the converted forest. About 53.6% of the water body lost was converted into rural- urban industrial land (Table 11). In the meantime, the conversion of some cropland into reservoir and hydro-technical construction land led to the increase in the total water body area. The increase in rural- urban industrial land was most noticeable (Fig. l), which came from other land use types, especially cropland. 62.1% of the lost area of the unused land was converted into forest, and the rest was converted mainly into orchard (Table 11).

TABLE I1 Land use changes in Xiamen from 1988 to 2001

Land use typea) Cropland Orchard Forest Rural-urban Water Unused Total area industrial land body land in 1988 ha Cropland 31 769 3 697 305 6959 2 204 82 45 016 0r ch a r d 1018 19 952 573 2356 268 40 24 207 Forest 240 1219 61 533 458 56 425 63 931 Rural-urban industrial land 0 0 0 12159 0 0 12 159 Water body 169 615 103 1146 10203 104 12 340 Unused land 87 343 723 12 0 1559 2 724 Total area in 2001 33 283 25 826 63237 22312 12731 2210 a)The land use types in the column and row represent those in 1988 and 2001, respectively. The data represent the land use changes among various land types during the period from 1988 to 2001.

Comparison of land use changes between 1988 to 1998 and 1998 to 2001

The rate of land use change for the study period 1988-2001 is shown in Fig. 2 with a larger decrease of cropland (ie. paddy fields, 10575 ha) during the earlier stage than the later stage (730 ha). The decrease in the earlier stage was about 14 times that of the later stage while the period of observation in the later stage was about one third of the earlier stage. Thus, the data suggested that the disappearance rate of cropland had slowed. During the two sub-periods both of the rural-urban industrial land use changes increased (Table I) and the ratio of the increase between the two stages was about 12.4:l. Land areas for orchard and water bodies increased during the earlier stage while no major change took place during the later stage. Forest showed over twice as great a change in the first period than the second. In 482 B. QUAN et al. short, the basic rule of land use change in Xiamen during the period 1988 to 2001 was that changes in the early stage were greater than those in the later stage. This meant that changes in land use gradually decreased with time suggesting a more rational utilization of land resources.

Earlier stage 0 Laterstage

I 11 12 21 31 41 42 43 51 52 53 61 62 Land use type

Fig. 2 Net changes in land use areas of Xiamen for the earlier stage (1988-1998) and the later stage (1998-2001) with paddy field (ll),dry land (12), orchard (21), forest (31), urban, town and separated industrial land (41), rural land (42), salt field (43), reservoir (51), other water body (52), coastal beach (53), barren land (61), and other unused land (62). The number in the parenthesis represents the ranking code of land use type of the second grade according to the land use classification system.

The land use dynamic degree for the seven administrative districts in Xiamen is shown in Fig.3. The overall comprehensive land use dynamic degree of Xiamen for the period from 1988 to 2001 was 21.1%. Fig. 3 indicated that the Huli and Xinglin Districts were in the first group. Their high ranking was attributed to their favorable geographical location due to the presence of shipping, transportation, and industrial facilities. These districts became a base of “exchanges of mail, trade, air and shipping services” on both sides of the Taiwan Straits. Therefore, these two districts played an important role in capital investments from Taiwan. In 1989, Haicang of Xiamen also became an area of investment interest for Taiwanese businessmen, who progressively promoted local economic development.

Kai y ua n Huli Tong an Jimei I

0 10 20 30 40 Land use dynamic degree (%)

Fig. 3 Dynamic degree of land use for the seven administrative districts in Xiamen during the period 1988 to 2001 with fast change being from 25% to 40%, moderate change from 12% to 25% (including 25%), and slow change from 8% to 12% (including 12%).

The Jimei, Tong’an, and Kaiyuan Administrative Districts belonged to the second group. They experienced a moderate land use change (Fig. 3). Siming and Gulangyu districts belonged to the third group, which showed a slow land use change. Siming was an old urban district in which the urbanization level was high to start with and therefore a further increase would have been difficult to achieve. The slow change on Gulangyu Island could be related to regulations that were designed to preserve the characteristic architectural style and the greenery. LAND USE CHANGE IN XIAMEN 483

The rates of land use change for Xiamen and its administrative districts were calculated for the period 1988 to 2001 (Table 111). Among the various land use types, the cropland annual conversion rate was the highest. This was indicative of the rapid land use change in this region. A comparison of cropland land use change rates among the various administrative districts showed that Siming District had the highest rate of cropland land use change. This change was related to the rapid urbanization during the period 1988 to 2001. The orchard land use change rate in Huli District was the largest and orchards were mainly converted into rural-urban industrial land (Table 11). Most of the water body changes involved converting coastal beach into rural-urban industrial land. In the Xiamen Region, the forest change rate of the Huli District was the highest (Table 111). Losses of forest in Table I1 were mainly converted into orchard and rural-urban industrial land. Changes with unused land occurred only in Xinglin and Tong’an Districts (Table 111), where the losses were mainly converted into forest and orchard (Table 11). This trend may be related to the influence of the “Making Green with Trees” Policy.

TABLE I11 The annual conversion rates of land use types of different districts in Xiamen from 1988 to 2001

District Land use typea)

1 2 3 4 5 6 % Xiamen 5.43 1.35 0.29 1.32 1.04 3.25 Xinglin 4.99 2.10 0.81 1.15 3.56 3.93 Jimei 3.29 1.47 0.18 1.42 1.54 Tong ’an 1.17 0.81 0.20 0.71 1.21 3.22 Huli 5.18 5.30 2.14 0.09 4.54 Kaiyuan 5.72 4.22 0.68 0.09 3.96 Siming 6.44 2.81 0.71 0.88 Gulangyu 0.11 0.38

”)1stands for cropland; 2 for orchard; 3 for forest; 4 for rural-urban industrial land; 5 for water body; and 6 for unused land.

Regional differences in the land use degree change

Using the model of Wang and Bao (1999), the land use degree change parameter AI that expressed the change in the land use intensity index was 6.91 (Table IV). Since this was greater than 0, it indicated that the rural-urban industrial land areas could be increasing, and land in the region was becoming more intensively used. Table IV also showed that land use intensity was gradually increasing over time in Xiamen. Comparison of the AI parameter for the various administrative districts in 2001 revealed that land use intensity index was largest for Huli District followed by Kaiyuan District, while the Tong’an District was the smallest. The land use intensity change of the Jimei District decreased slightly due to it being a cultural and educational district, whereas the other districts experienced an increase. The Huli and Xinglin Districts were both industrial districts, which had a prosperous economy and were experiencing rapid urbanization.

TABLE IV

Land use intensity comprehensive index (I)and Land use degree change parameter (A{) for different districts in Xiamen from 1988 to 2001 Item Year District

~~ Xiamen Xinglin Jimei Tong’an Huli Kaiyuan Siming Gulangyu I 1988 256.74 256.16 256.29 250.64 297.42 288.60 271.32 279.46 2001 263.65 280.62 256.18 253.58 348.93 317.08 295.19 282.54 AI 6.91 24.46 -0.11 2.94 51.51 28.48 23.87 3.08 484 B. QUAN et al.

Drivang forces of land use change

Cropland change. A comparison of the Landsat acquired data with the statistical data obtained from the Land Resource Survey Office (LRSO) showed that the difference in cropland area was less than 5%. This difference was in part attributed to the image resolution and the interpretation method involving person-machine alternating operations on existing images. Therefore, for each year during the 13 years of this study period the image cropland area obtained by Landsat data corresponded very well with the statistically acquired cropland area data obtained from the LRSO. Correlation coefficients (r)between cropland area change and the social-economic factors are given in Table V. According to the test of significant differences at P < 0.01, the critical correlation coefficient was 0.661. The results indicated that general population, nonagricultural population, and natural growth rate of the population had highly significant correlations with the dependent variable (Table V). Most population and economic factors were closely correlated to cropland area change. Electricity used in villages and total power consumption of agricultural operations also had highly significant correlation coefficients. This suggested that economic development and the status of agricultural modernization were closely correlated to cropland area change. In short, cropland reduction was mainly driven by population growth, present agricultural conditions, level of affluence of the farming populations, and production technology (Li et al., 2003; Quan et al., 2005b).

TABLE V

The correlation coefficient (r)between cropland area change and social and economic elements from 1988 to 2001 with the critical correlation coefficient = 0.661 at I‘ < 0.01

Social-economic factor 1‘ Social-economic factor T General population -0.970** Ratio of forest industry to agriculture 0.377 Plowing with large animals 0.934** Sowing area of grain crops 0.981** Primary industry proportion 0.969** Electricity used in villages -0.970** Ratio of fisheries to agriculturea) -0.321 Total power consumption of agricultural operations -0.908** Ratio of plant industry to agriculture 0.740** Natural growth rate of the population 0.850** Sowing area of agricultural crops 0.944** GDP -0.935** Effective irrigated area 0.924** Tertiary industry proportion 0.871** Net income per farmer - 0.985* * Ratio of animal husbandry to agriculture -0.750** Nonagricultural population -0.950** Grain and soybean output 0.876** Pig number in sheds 0.746** Fertilizer application -0.679** Secondary industry proportion -0.970** Fixed asset investments -0.990** Total agricultural output value -0.973**

“)Agriculture includes plant industry, forest industry, animal husbandry and fisheries industry. *Significant at P < 0.01.

Rural-urban industrial land use change. Table I indicated that during the period 1988 to 2001 the rural-urban industrial land area increased by 10 152.24 ha. This represented an annual increase of 781 ha. Two reasons can be given for this increase. First there were comparative economic benefits that the farming population received%hrough enhanced opportunities during industrialization, and the second was attributed to the effect of the industrial policy itself on villages and small towns. On one hand, industry was earning more than agriculture during those years. On the other hand, many village and small town industries suddenly developed along the roads at the juncture of the city and countryside where land prices were lower. At present, most revenue from those villages and small towns comes from these industrial plants, which will lead to the transition from a village economy to an industrial economy. In addition, some villages located in the city region could practice two types of economic management systems, namely that of a city and a village. In short, these factors promoted the expansion of the rural-urban industrial area. Water body changes. The increase in reservoir, fish pond and aqua farm areas was in part at the LAND USE CHANGE IN XIAMEN 485 expense of cropland areas and was in part obtained from construction of water bodies on sea reclaimed areas. For the farming population, aqua farming was more profitable than traditional agricultural crop production. The reclaimed land areas, from marshes of Xinglin Bay and Maluan Bay, not only increased the potential of flooding during tides, but also raised the possibility of salt-water intrusion from the sea. As a matter of fact, the sea-lanes became shallower and flooding hazards increased. The practice of reclaiming land from the sea has therefore posed a strong threat to the marine environment and has disturbed the balance of the marine ecosystems. In short, comparative economic benefits for the farming population and public policies were the main driving forces for water body changes. Orchard and forest change. Tree cutting and the expansion of orchards were the main reasons for the decrease in forests in Xiamen. Xiamen climatic conditions are often referred to as the ‘‘the four evergreen seasons”, which means that they are favorable for growth of various commercial crops. These commercial crops have had a long history as well as large market potential and economic benefits for its population. Since the 1980~~due to the favorable climatic resources and population growth orchard development has taken place rapidly (Figs. 1 and 2). Another reason for the decrease in forest area was serious deforestation. In July 1998, the Xiamen Municipal Government issued measures for forest preservation. These measures stipulated that activities destroying the forest, which at the time consisted of random and unauthorized reclamation; excavating stone, sand, and soil; mining; and tomb and house building, were prohibited. After the corrective measures were put into practice, the cutting of forest by farmers gradually decreased. However, during the period of 1998-2001, the expansion of orchards and rural-urban industrial land contributed more to forest decrease than cutting forests. That is the reason why the average annual loss for the forests in 1988-1998 was 53.1 ha while in 1998-2001 it was about 65.4 ha (Table I). Therefore, forest preservation is still an important issue in Xiamen and should be paid more attention.

Strategies for sustainable land utilization

A balance between economic growth and cropland utilization was necessary. In Xiamen, urbanization has been the result of economic development with the expansion of urban areas leading to elimination of large areas of cropland. Thus, a reasonable plan for converting cropland, especially for building sites, was necessary. Some measures, such as keeping the total amount of cropland unchanged and changing other land use types, were considered. Meanwhile, because many farmers constructed their private homes on high quality agricultural production land, law enforcement needed to be strengthened. Moreover, a decision support system and dynamic monitoring system of land utilization should be established and the total amount of land supply should be strictly controlled (Dung and Sugumaran, 2005). From the perspective of harmonizing economic development and land use, it was necessary to innovate a policy for cropland conservation. For example, a “cropland replacement policy” could be adopted, which should permit a proportion of additional cropland to be developed for urbanization and industrialization purposes, but this would require the conversion of other land use types to cropland elsewhere and/or making expenditures for additional cropland development. It has also been suggested that a more responsible system identifying basic farmland, and permit policies for basic farmland should be developed. The ultimate aim was to keep the economy growing all the time. Nevertheless, the phenomenon of replacing fertile cropland with inferior land should be forbidden (Zhao, 2004). The potential of the land resources needed to be fully tapped. Xiamen belonged to a region in China, where water, heat and light resources were most abundant. This potential could be fully tapped. Because of light energy conditions, a more rational arrangement of the different plant varieties would allow an increase in agricultural net primary productivity (Bao et al., 2005). There have been many instances of intercropping or mixed cultures, which could raise land productivity. Besides, it was important to build up a rational food chain network so that the byproducts of one organism could be used as the food source for another (Zhu, 1997 and 2002). Heat energy was also favorable. Subtropical fruits made better use of the heat and grew well. 486 B. QUAN et al.

The establishment of a fruit-farming-grass-stock breeding complex system was another useful ecological pattern of agriculture that has been designed and popularized. The result of this ecological experiment showed that the total energy output per unit area was 5.1 times that of the traditional system. This ecological friendly system showed a benign circulation in the production process that had favorable ecological and economic benefits, and offered wonderful prospects (Zhu and Cheng, 2002; Quan et al., 2003). Though Xiamen has two or three harvests per year, presently the multiple crop index is only about 210%. As a result, the develop potential to further raise the multiple crop index was great. The drought during the summer and autumn was due to unequal distribution of rainfall in time and space. The soil water volumetric capacity, water-storage capacity, especially the available water-storage capacity in lateritic red soil was small and the water content available for plant growth was limited. These conditions promoted the progressive development of drought. Installation of irrigation equipment and the development of sprinkling and trickle irrigation could effectively increase water use efficiency in lateritic red soil during the dry season. Owing to various problems in large scheme, small irrigation schemes are considered more suitable to develop at present (Wakatsuki and Masunaga, 2005). Soil mulch was also necessary to preserve soil water (Quan et al., 2001a and 2004a). Additionally, the widely distributed red and lateritic soils in Xiamen had some features, e.g., strong mineral weathering and leaching, less soil organic matter, acidity, low CEC (cation exchange capacity), poor fertility holding capacity, and low natural fertility with most soils at the moderate and inferior grade. Some research results have shown that the potential fertility of the dryland soils was rather low with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content in the soil, on the whole, being deficient (Quan et al., 2001b). Thus, methods of compensating for these deficiencies, such as application of organic fertilizer and compound fertilizers, must be adopted (Zhao et al., 1998). Protection of the ecological environment should not be neglected. It has been reported that the major factors causing intensive erosion in the subtropical region of China were frequent rainstorms, intensive land use activities and deforestation (Wang et al., 2005). Since Xiamen was regarded as an international garden city, soil and water loss should be minimized and favorable soil and water conservation measures related to land use should be made popular to make it more beautiful (Ruan and Zhu, 1997). Additionally, the need for fruit. has increased with population growth and economic development in recent years. This has led to reclamation of steep sloping land exceeding 25 degrees for the establishment of orchards. At the same time, croplands should be replaced with forests from an ecological standpoint. Also, decay of forest ecology should be recognized. On one hand, different tree densities should be rationally planned, e.g., coniferous forest mixed with broadleaf forests; on the other hand soil fertilization should be given more attention. Last but not least, wind protection plantings and field-protecting windbreaks or shelterbelt forests could be constructed in coastal areas where high winds were prevalent.

CONCLUSIONS

Using a model approach, GIS and RS tools, this study quantitatively analyzed the spatial-temporal changes of land use characteristics as well as their differences and driving forces in Xiamen. From 1988 to 2001 rapid urbanization contributed to great land use changes for cropland. These changes were related to the level of economic development, public policy that was carried out, and people's recognition of the importance of land resources. In Xiamen, the most active land use change was in Xinglin District, followed by Huli District. Both districts were located in prime geographical locations, which were favorable for receiving Taiwanese capital and for economic development. To some extent, land reclamation projects have contributed to a decrease in water body area. Eco- logical protection of marine system was also hindered with land reclamation from sea project and reclamation of marshlands for aqua culture. Land use change was mainly correlated with growth of the population, agriculture economic conditions, the level of affluence of the farming population, agricultural production technology and policy LAND USE CHANGE IN XIAMEN 487

factors. So, population growth controls and environmental protection were very important for sustainable land utilization. Permit policies for basic farmland also needed development with these policies and institutions becoming part of a responsible system of government. Meanwhile, some new policies on village and small town industry must come into being. New techniques such as remote sensing (RS) and GIS could be applied in dynamic monitoring to assure basic field preservation.

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