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Library Changes of land cover in the Yarlung Tsangpo River basin from 1985 to 2005

Changes of land cover in the Yarlung Tsangpo River basin from 1985 to 2005

Changes of land cover in the Yarlung Tsangpo River basin from 1985 to 2005

Resource information

Date of publication
December 2013
Resource Language
ISBN / Resource ID
AGRIS:US201400103915
Pages
181-188

Land cover is closely related to environmental changes and socioeconomic development. Land-cover change in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is different from that in the lowlands; however, a detailed land-cover change in areas such as the Yarlung Tsangpo River (YTR) basin in the TP has not been reported. To fill this gap, the current study explores the land-cover change between 1985 and 2005 in the YTR basin. The results show that only 1 % of the land cover in the YTR basin changed during this time period. The most significant land-cover changes included increases in forest and built-up areas as well as decreases in grassland, water and wetland areas. By percentage, the most rapid land-cover change occurred for built-up areas with an annual variation of 2.07 %. There was an obvious vertical distribution pattern for land-cover types in the YTR basin; from low to high, the average altitudes were forest, farmland, built-up, grassland, water and wetland, and bare land. The average altitude and slope for most land-cover types did not vary over the past 20 years. However, the average altitude and slope of built-up significantly decreased, especially in the zone between 3,500 and 4,000 m. The water and wetland area in altitudes above 4,500 m increased; however, they decreased in the zone between 3,500 and 4,000 m. Natural factors cause most land-cover changes, whereas the increasing intensity of human activities cause some changes to built-up and farmland. Additional attention should be paid to the study of the mechanism of land-cover change in the TP.

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Authors and Publishers

Author(s), editor(s), contributor(s)

Li, Fapeng
Xu, Zongxue
Feng, Youcan
Liu, Mei
Liu, Wenfeng

Publisher(s)
Data Provider