Landscape Changes and Spatial Inclinations in the Satoyama of Sano, Japan by Aerial Photos

The surface of the earth is undergoing profound changes, such as alterations of river flows, changes in soil structure, modification of the topography, retreat of the coastlines, wholesale transformation of vegetative and hydrological systems. Landscape changes are deemed as the comprehensive expressions of these changes, which are greatly affected by geographical factors. The researches on the landscape changes provide ecosystem management with essential information. This study captured the landscape changes of Satoyama in Sano, Japan from 1966 to 2004 using aerial photos, and analyzed the spatial inclinations of those changes. There were obvious increase of coniferous forest and construction land, and decrease of broad-leaved forest and cultivated land during the thirty-eight years. They manifested some inclinations of the changes in broad-leaved forest, construction land, river and ponds, roads.