Remote sensing dynamic monitoring and driving force analysis of land use / cover changes in Chengdu from 2000 to 2009

Land use of Chengdu city has changed a lot in the rapid process of urbanization since the year 2000. In order to find characteristics of the changes, land use/cover information is extracted by processing and interpretations of Landsat images, applying the remote sensing and GIS technology. Through comparative analysis, the characteristics of land use change in Chengdu are identified. Considering the characteristics of the local natural environment and socio-economic factors, comprehensively analyzed the causes of land use change. The results show that urban area of Chengdu city rapidly expanded. And area of the arable and other kinds of land cover reduced considerably. The spatial structure of land use changed a lot. Multiple factors combined effect the land use/change, such as its unique natural environment, local policy factor, and population factor.