ABSTRACT
Chinese macro-structural terrestrial ecosystem data for 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2010 were produced by combining Landsat TM (Thematic Mapper) data with fi eld survey and other ancillary data and by using man-machine interaction methods of spatial data preparation. To analyze the evolution of the spatial characteristics of terrestrial ecosystems and the temporal dynamics of land-use types, use was made of vector graphics methods applied to 1 km grid squares to identify the surface-area share of various ecological system types. This method effectively reveals for four points in time the spatial distribution of China’s macro-structural terrestrial ecosystem and its evolution (Figures 11.1 and 11.2).
