Spatiotemporal change characteristics and driving mechanism of slope cultivated land transition in karst trough valley area of Guizhou Province, China

Discussing the spatiotemporal change characteristics of slope cultivated land use transition influenced by various factors in karst trough valley area is of great importance and can help in regional food security and ecological restoration. High-resolution images (0.53 m) of 2005, 2010, and 2017 and a digital elevation model as the data source were verified through a field survey. We calculated the relevant dynamic change index and used the transfer matrix and kernel density estimation to reveal the spatial temporal transition characteristics and spatial agglomeration of slope cultivated land in the trough valley area of Guizhou Province, China. Results show that the utilization of slope cultivated land is mainly dominated by gentle and oblique slope cultivated lands. From 2005 to 2017, the dynamic degree changes of slope cultivated land show their own characteristics and differences. The transition of slope cultivated land is mainly based on rural residential land, town land, fruit land, tea land, shrubland, grassland, and forested land, the transfer space is distributed in the flat position of three trough valleys, and the change in density agglomeration during 2010–2017 is higher than that during 2005–2010. Six change modes are found in the temporal and spatial variations of slope cultivated land. The difference distribution of natural factors in elevation, hydrogeology, and soil type directly leads to the significant difference in the spatial and temporal distributions of slope cultivated land. The utilization function of slope cultivated land shows diversification with the improvement of social economy and the implementation of human policies in trough valley areas.