Application of remote sensing and GIS technology to the study of desertification of arable lands in North Shaanxi, China

The policy of the Chinese government concerning the horizontal expansion of the cultivated land through the reclamation of desert soils result in a total increase of 665. 985 km² during the period 1987–1999 in North Shaanxi. This increase is less than the loss in arable land by urbanization. The accelerated rate of change in agricultural areas calls for more rapid surveys of urbanization and loss of arable land. Remote sensing has a number of advantages over ground-based methods for such surveys. The multi-scale concept of remote sensing data help us study the problem in four towns. Several maps were produced to analyze the situation of urban coverage in different times. The evaluation of the status, rate and risk of urbanization are based on an accepted average of urban increase as 2% of population growth per year.