干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

In the paper, the use of 1994 and 2005 Landsat TM data monitors the land use and changes of the Shiyang river basin with remote sensing classification comparison under the support of GIS. The result shows that from 1994 to 2005, the area of farmland and settlement land increased greatly and that of grass and forest reduces obviously in this basin; Minqin which is in the lower reaches of Shiyang river basin has a serious desertification with low grass coverage degradation into desert. With a comprehensive analysis about the driving factors of nature and human, population pressure and irrational use of water resource are the key factors of the Land use change and between the natural factor and human factor, human acts leading role.