Land Use Change and Its Effect on Environment Based on Farmers’Behaviors: A Case Study in Agricultural Areas of Tibet, China

In the case study in Agricultural Area of Tibet, the process and characteristics of farmers’ land use were surveyed by semi-structural interview questionnaire. By comparing the change of land covers and farmers’ land decision in two periods, the spatial connection of them was obtained. And the relations among farmers’ land decision, land use change and environment were examined by calculating emergy and value flow. The results show that: hunting the maximal profits is the primary aim of farmers’ land decision; farmers’ land decision is incompatible with sustainable land use presently; farmers’ land decision and land cover can be embodied spatially by each other; the change of farmers’ land decision can be monitored by observing the change of land cover, and the sustainability of farmers’ land decision can be appraised by calculating emergy and value flow.