Monitoring Agricultural Soil Sealing in Peri-Urban Areas Using Remote Sensing

Soil degradation by expansion-driven sealing increases at an unexpected rate globally, but the dynamics of agricultural soil sealing in pen-urban areas remain poorly understood. This study used aerial photographs to monitor patterns of built-up land expansion and subsequent agricultural soil sealing between 1994 and 2006 in pen-urban areas of Shanghai, China. Results indicated that a total of 152,706.5 ha of agricultural soils were sealed. In particular, residential land and industrial land were the major contributors. Buffer analysis demonstrated that agricultural soils with high proximity to roads and urban centers are more vulnerable to be sealed. Percentage of sealed agricultural soils of total agricultural soils had linear relationships with population growth and economic development. These results quantitatively document the impacts of urbanization on agricultural soil sealing. From a management perspective, we argue that the protection of agricultural soils should be integrated with urban planning efforts in China.