Dynamic Monitoring And Analysis Using Multi-temporal Satellite Remote Sensing Images Of Xiamen City, The Process Of Urbanization And Environmental Change

The remote sensing dynamic monitoring technique was applied to land use change, urban sprawl and environment change in Xiamen city from 1989, 1995 to 2000 using the multi-temporal Landsat TM/ETM+ satellite images with the auxiliary of the Geographic Information System (GIS) and the Global Position System (GPS). Meanwhile, the change analysis was done combining the social and economic data of Xiamen city. The land use had changed greatly from 1989 to 2000 in Xiamen. The main land use, such as the built-up land, the arable land and the forest/orchard, had changed to various degrees. The main driving forces causing land use change in Xiamen. included the improvement of industrialization and urbanization, the increase of population, the government's planning and the geographic environment. The speed of urban sprawl in Xiamen city was quick and the urban body in 2000 was almost twice more than that in 1989. The main land use type which was occupied by the urban sprawl in Xiamen city was the arable land around the urban body. The direction and rate of urban sprawl was determined by the high-speed development of economic of Xiamen, the foreign continuous investment, the special economic policy executed in Xiamen, the favorable policy for the foreign businessman and the mountainous by-sea geographic condition. The environment change in Xiamen was achieved by analyzing the change of urban heat island, ground wetness, vegetation cover, water and traffic land, etc. Besides the overall environment change in Xiamen was analyzed, the detail spatial-temporal environment change analysis was done as well by dividing the Xianien Island.