Urban land expansion and cultivated land loss in the Beijing Tianjin region, China

Economic growth in China continues to nurture the urban expansion of large cities, causing the loss of an increasing amount of arable land. Cultivated land conservation in the urban fringe is important in mitigating the concomitant effects of urban growth on the environment. Due to strong State influence, possible policy differences between Beijing and Tianjin municipalities and Hebei Province are expected to be reflected in the land-use pattern. In this study, we examined quantitative land-use change in the Beijing Tianjin region using Geographic Information Systems and a 1 km grid dataset of the 1980s, 1995 and 2000. The results show difference in terms of the urban and cultivated land-use change pattern between Beijing and Tianjin municipalities as well as between the suburbs and outer counties in the study area. Urban expansion seems linked to existing urban centres, whilst change in cultivated land appears to be subject to administrative boundaries as well as market forces, indicating large-scale State influence on the land-use pattern. However, the results suggest that most changes in cultivated land occur at a local scale. As separate administrative areas try to meet State demands, land resources may not be used as effectively as possible. This study suggests that planners should pay increased attention to land-use patterns and policy implementation at small scales in order to enable effective urban-rural planning