Change Analysis on the Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Main Crop Planting in the Middle Yangtze Plain

Abstract

As a traditional agricultural production base in China, the Middle Yangtze Plain (MYP) is a typical region to explore the intensification, large-scale, and agglomeration of agricultural land, and its crop planting situation is sensitive to changes in national agricultural policy and economic development. So far, the research of crop remote sensing extraction mainly has focused on the areas with simple crops rotation patterns, by using short-time sequence remote sensing data with low spatial resolution. The objective of this study was to address how to accurately map the spatial distribution of main crops considering their spectral and phenological features, and what characteristics of spatio-temporal patterns dynamics of crops occurred in the MYP in 1990–2020. Based on Landsat and MODIS data, using the Enhanced Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model (ESTARFM) as well as the raster-based spectral and phenological differential change method (RSPDCM), this study mapped the spatial distribution of main crops (rice, cotton, maize, soybean, rapeseed and winter wheat) in the MYP during 1990–2020 and analyzed their planting characteristics. The RSPDCM has a good overall accuracy of more than 89%. The planting characteristics of the main crops were highly intensive and agglomerate double-cropping rotation in the MYP’s paddy field. Rice and rapeseed were the two most important crops, accounting for 74.75% of the annual planting area. The highly intensive and large-scale areas were mainly distributed in the Dongting Lake Plain (DTLP) and Poyang Lake Plain (PYLP), while the highly agglomerate areas of main crops were mainly distributed in the Jianghan Plain (JHP). This study innovatively provides a high-precision multi-cropping spatial dynamic mapping method and basic information, which is helpful to realize high-precision remote sensing extraction of crops in different regions of the world and provide basic data for optimizing the allocation of agricultural production resources in top grain-producing areas.

Spatiotemporal Variation and Stability of Rice Planting Using Landsat–MODIS Fusion Images from 1990 to 2020

“…On the one hand, comparing the existing research [17,46,47], it was found that the conclusions on the spatial distribution characteristics of rice are basically consistent with ours, but the research focus is different. The research of Sang et al mainly focuses on rice remote sensing recognition and extraction methods and only studies on the current pattern.…”

Mapping the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Cropland Abandonment and Recultivation across the Yangtze River Basin

“…As such, accurate data on abandonment and recultivation patterns are crucial to conduct this research. Currently, the remote sensing based studies for monitoring of cropland in the Yangtze River basin are diverse and cover various aspects of land use and environmental monitoring, including urbanization [59], water and soil monitoring [60], and crop patterns [61]. However, studies focusing on the spatiotemporal dynamics of the interaction between cropland abandonment and recultivation in this region are lacking.…”

From Fragmentation to Intensification: Land Reform in China’s “New Era”

“…They master advanced modern agricultural management techniques and concepts. Only by realizing land intensification can the land be concentrated in the hands of professionals for professional operation [ 6 ]. Secondly, only by realizing the intensification of land can capital really enter, large-scale machinery and equipment can be used, and the level of agricultural modernization can be greatly improved.…”