Abstract:Based on the landscape classification and cartography and the analyses of landscape patterns,the temporal and spatial patterns of landscape from the 1950s to the 1990s in the Mu Us Sandland,Northern China were investigated.The results show that since the 1950s the landscape in this area have undergone dramatic changes.The shifting and semi fixed sandy land expanded rapidly and fixed sandy land reduced fast.The area of farmland increased and that of grassland,willow and wetlands salinized and/or damp decrea...