Land-Use Patterns and Land-Use Change

This chapter discusses the types, driving forces, patterns, and implications of the land-use change in China. Chinas landscape consists of mostly mountains, high plateaus, and deserts in the west; hills and basins in the middle section; and plains, deltas, and low hills in the east. A combination of physical environment and socioeconomic conditions determines land-use patterns. Both natural and human forces control land-use patterns and drive land-use changes. Many types of land-use changes have occurred in China since the implementation of the open-door policy, but the major changes are nearly always related to agricultural land, such as conversion of farmland to urban and industrial uses, the shift from grain crops to cash crops, and reclamation of wetlands for agricultural uses. The major land-use change is the conversion of farmland to urban and industrial uses. Because of favorable climatic conditions, rice production used to greatly outweigh regional demand.