The middle and lower reaches of the Liaohe River are located in the old industrial region of northeastern China and are important for food production and stockbreeding. Based on multi-temporal remotely sensed data from Thematic Mapper

this research attempted to reveal the spatial-temporal trends in land use and its impact on the eco-environment in middle and lower reaches of the Liaohe River. The results suggest that

in the last 15 years

the area of cultivated land increased and aggregated rapidly

while the area of woodland

grassland and water decreased considerably. The dominant land use change types were the conversion of woodland

grassland and wetland into cultivated land. The dynamic change of land use has had many effects on the local environment

including intensive soil erosion

increasing nitrogen content in the river and biodiversity loss in the region.