Using remote sensing data collected in the years of 1977

1999and 2007

and integrating GIS with analytical methods of landscape ecology

research on changes of land use/cover and landscape pattern of Fukang area in Xinjiang Wei Autonomous Region from 1977to 2006was conducted.The results indicate that:(1)Significant changesin land use/cover have taken place in Fukang area from 1977to 2006.Farmland and construction land increased continually

while the area of forestland

grassland

water land

and salinized land decreased accordingly

and stillthe rate was accelerating.Increase in farmland was mainly from grass land and salinized land

while increasein construction land was mainly from farmland

grass land and unused land.(2)At the class level

spatialconnectedness and landscape dominance of farmland

construction land and unused land increased gradually.Patches of forest

water land and salinized land became more separated

broken and evenly distributed thanbefore and their spatial connectedness decreased.Patches of grassland tended to be more regular and fragmented

but its spatial connectedness hardly changed.Patches of sandlot hardly changed.At the landscapelevel

the heterogeneity of the whole landscape increased in general

and the landscape was evolving in the direction of diversity and evenness.(3)The analysis of driving forces show that:though temperature and precipitation has comparatively large impact upon water land and grassland respectively

anthropogenic factorswere the main driving forces

among which

increase in population was the direct driving force

and improveson policies and industrial structure accelerated the rate of changes of the land use.