Characteristics of Land-use Changes Northern Cheongju Region using Landsat Images and DEM

Landsat영상과 DEM을 이용한 청주북부지역의 토지이용 변화특성

Land-use in Cheongju region is changing rapidly because of the increased interactions of human activities with the environment as population increases. We used multi-temporal Landsat images (1991 and 2000) and DEM data in a post-classification analysis with GIS to map land-use distribution and to analyse factors influencing the land-use changes for Cheongju City. Land-use statistics revealed that substantial land-use changes have taken place and that the built-up areas have expanded by about $17.57km^2(11.47%)$ over the study period (1991-2000). Agricultural lands and forests have decreased substantially while urban and barren lands have been on the increase. Rapid economic developments together with the increasing population were noted to be the major factors influencing rapid land use changes. Urban expansion has replaced urban and barren lands, thereby affecting habitat quality and leading to serious environmental degradation.