Analysis of land-use changes and socio-economic factors in karst mountainous areas of Guizhou and Guangxi

This paper is based on data of land use and economic and social statistics of karst mountainous areas in Guizhou and Guangxi in 1990 and 2015. A demonstration analysis is conducted to land-use changes and economic and social driving factors during the period from 1990 to 2015. Results show that there are obvious spatial and temporal variations in land-use changes in the study area. (2) The Guizhou plateau area is characterized by the decrease of grassland and the increase of forest land. The peak cluster areas in Guizhou and Gangxi are featured by the increase of water area and the decrease of grassland; The main features of the Guangxi hilly areas are the reduction of cultivated land and the increase of construction land. (3) The land-use change in the Guizhou Plateau is mainly driven by economic and demographic factors; the economic factors of land use change and the level of agricultural structure in the Guangxi hilly area. The agricultural factors have a significant driving effect on land use change in the peak cluster areas. In the future, the importance of ecological function of grassland in karst mountainous areas of the Guizhou plateau and the peak cluster areas should be raised, and the protection of grassland resources should be strengthened while the restoration of forest vegetation should be strengthened. Under the background of urbanization development, these karst mountain areas should reduce the occupation of high-quality cultivated land, develop the land of low hills and gentle slopes, and build characteristic cities in mountainous areas.