Dynamics of forest landscape pattern in Changbai Mountain

Based on Landsat remote sensing image data in 2004 and 2015, we analyzed the changes in spatial distribution, shape, landscape fragmentation and diversity of Changbai Mountain National Nature Reserve and four neighboring forestry bureaus. The results showed that landscape changes did not always differ between the reserve and the neighboring forestry bureaus. The shape of forest landscapes became more regular, and the coniferous forest area decreased, which was mostly converted to broad-leaved mixed forest areas from 2004 to 2015 in both the reserve and its neighboring forestry bureaus. The total forest area in the reserve was almost unchanged, while the forest area in the forestry bureaus was reduced by 7326 hm², which was mostly converted to cultivated lands, followed by bare, harvested and construction lands. Generally, the landscapes in the study area tended to become more fragmented, heterogeneous, and diverse from 2004 to 2015, which indicated strong effect of human disturbances. In addition, the landscape changes varied among the four forestry bureaus. For instance, the shape of forest landscapes in Baihe Forestry Bureau became more regular, and the degree of fragmentations decreased, while the other forestry bureaus, such as Quanyang and Songjianghe showed the opposite trend.