Spatial and Temporal Changes in Land Use/Cover in the Aksu River Oasis Over the Past 35 Years and Their Influencing Factors

It is of great significance for ecological environment and sustainable development to study the characteristics and influencing factors of land use/cover change in Aksu River oasis. Based on 1985 and annual land use/cover data from 1990 to 2020, land use dynamic attitude, land transfer matrix and human activity intensity index were used to explore the characteristics of land use/cover change in Aksu River oasis. For the past 35 years, the cultivated land area of Aksu River oasis increased by 2983.70 km², with an increase rate of 51.2%, and the construction land area increased by 397.45 km². The area of grassland, unused land and water area decreased by 833.66 km², 2539.02 km² and 8.45 km², respectively. The period of land use/cover change is divided into four periods: from 1985 to 1995, the land transfer was mainly from cultivated land to grassland; from 1995 to 2002, the land transfer was mainly from grassland to cultivated land and unused land to grassland; from 2002 to 2012, the land transfer was mainly from grassland to cultivated land, unused land to grassland and unused land to grassland; from 2012 to 2020, the land use/cover change was mainly from grassland to cultivated land. The intensity of human activity have significant spatial differences, showing the characteristics of high east and low west, high south and low north. Water resource environment, economic development and policy factors are the main influencing factors of land use change in Aksu River oasis.