role of policies in land use/cover change since the 1970s in ecologically fragile karst areas of Southwest China: A case study on the Maotiaohe watershed
Study of land use/cover change and its driving forces is one of the most significant fields in global environmental change research. Karst land is a type of important and unique terrain on the Earth's surface because of its extensive distribution, impressive landforms, and high ecological fragility. Recently, more and more researchers have realized that irrational land use practices are leading to a series of alarming environmental issues including rocky desertification in karst areas.