AN ANALYSIS ON DRIVING FORCE SYSTEM OF LAND USE CHANGES

Using systematic view and method, this paper gives an in depth analysis of the holistic nature, hierarchy, dynamics of driving force system, and land use dynamics driven by driving forces. It also gives preliminary answers to the questions about the sources of driving forces, the relationships between individual force and composition of all forces in the driving force system, and the nonlinear feedback relationships between driving forces and land use changes, and provides a new clue to the study of land use dynamics. Driving force system consists of diverse driving forces and possesses new function that individual driving force does not have. In such a system, the influence of each driving force on land use is conditioned by other forces. Therefore, the real force driving land use change is the composition of all the forces which is the holistic nature of driving force system. Driving force system has orderly internal structure. Different forces belong to different levels and play different roles in land use change. In the level of driving force system as a whole, it is the composition of all forces that drives land use change, and in sublevels, each driver contributes its force to the composition. There are two types of movements in the driving force system: longitudinal and horizontal. The longitudinal means change of driving forces over time, which is the cause for land use change. The horizontal is interactions among forces in the driving force system and that between the system and its external conditions. According to the system theory, longitudinal movement of a system is determined by its horizontal movement.