Spatial-Temporal Effect of Sea–Land Gradient on Land Use Change in Coastal Zone: A Case Study of Dalian City

Abstract

Geographically, the coastal zone is a unit where the marine system and the terrestrial system intersect and have the closest relationship with human survival and development. The study of coastal-zone land use change is therefore of great significance in promoting the sustainable development of coastal areas in terms of resources and environment. However, the relationship between urban land use change and distance from the coastline is indeterminate in current research. This paper aims to assess the spatial and temporal characteristics of coastal land use change with the sea–land gradient, as well as to reveal the role of coastal ecosystems. The indices of the dynamic index, net transfer matrix, and aggregation index were measured in different coastal buffer zones quantitatively. A case study of Dalian between 2000 and 2015 indicates that Dalian’s urban construction land is distributed among the coastal zones with a high total and fast growth rate. The land use conversion direction varies significantly between different buffer zones, with [0, 2.5] km tilted mainly towards urban types and [10, Max] km tilted mainly towards rural areas. The aggregation of land use structure in Dalian fluctuated and increased year by year. As the distance from the coastline gets closer, land use is going to get more diverse.

Spatial–Temporal Changes in Land Use and Their Driving Forces in the Circum-Bohai Coastal Zone of China from 2000 to 2020

“…Due to the superior classification effect and experimental accuracy, the Random Forest (RF) [22] algorithm is often used in the LULC information classification and extraction task [23]. Researchers usually employ the RF classification model to classify the LULC information [24], and other methods are combined to investigate and analyze its spatial and temporal evolution [25,26]. The selection of LULC research areas also has its own characteristics, including inland areas [23], river coasts [27], and coastal areas [26,28].…”

“…Researchers usually employ the RF classification model to classify the LULC information [24], and other methods are combined to investigate and analyze its spatial and temporal evolution [25,26]. The selection of LULC research areas also has its own characteristics, including inland areas [23], river coasts [27], and coastal areas [26,28]. Exploring the driving factors that affect LUCC is helpful to further analyze the LUCC model in the Circum-Bohai region, which is of great significance for natural resources management.…”