[Landscape changes of Minqin oasis in Gansu Province and its driving force]

Based on the technology of GIS, RS and using FRAGSTATS, studies on the landscape changes of Minqin oasis during 1987 to 2001 showed that the transitions of landscape patches were complex, and open up wasteland took place during 1994 to 1998 in the south of the oasis where the condition of water was better and desertization took place during 1998 to 2001 in the north of the oasis where the condition of water was worse. The decreasing of the Shannon's diversity index and the Shannon's evenness index and the increasing of Contagion index showed that human beings reconstructing the landscape of the oasis began stronger than before. Unreasonable land use was changed the landscape pattern, and the condition of water resource accelerated the landscape change.