Changes of land use and landscape patterns of the Gongga Mountain area on the eastern edge of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Based on digital land use data from 1995 to 2000, the land use and landscape pattern changes of the Gongga Mountain area on the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau were studied on a macro-scale using ArcGIS 8.1 and landscape ecology methods. The results are as follows: 1) great changes have taken place in land use and landscape pattern from 1995 to 2000; the area of woodland, water and unused land has been reduced and that of grassland, cropland and construction land increased; 2) the advance of fractal dimensions, the diversity index and landscape fragmentation degree showed that landscape units became strongly fragmented; 3) the dominant degree of construction and unused land has changed little but that of meadow and water increased, and that of farmland and woodland decreased to some extent, which indicated that the trend of landscape pattern changed from cropland and woodland to meadow and water; 4) the changes of land use and landscape patterns near the road are obvious and it is urgent to strengthen eco-environment protection.