利用80年代末与90年代末期遥感图像解译得到的中国土地利用矢量图，分析了近10年来全国耕地资源的动态变化及空间特征，利用土地利用转移矩阵的方法分析了中国耕地资源的来源、去向及其空间分布特征。研究表明，城乡建设用地扩张、生态退耕是耕地资源减少的主要原因，城镇扩张造成耕地减少最大的依次是江苏、山东、河南、河北、广东、北京、浙江、四川、广西、上海；农村居民点扩张造成耕地减少最大的依次是江苏、河北、安徽、山东、广东、新疆、河南。退耕还林主要集中在浙江、东北、西南、内蒙古、广东等地区，退耕还草主要分布在内蒙古及宁夏地区。广东、湖北、江苏、山东由于农业结构调整，部分耕地被转变为库塘。新开垦耕地资源主要来源于草地、林地，毁林开荒主要发生在东北及内蒙古东部地区，开垦草地主要发生在内蒙古、黑龙江和新疆地区。中国耕地资源的动态变化表现为沿海地区耕地资源的减少及东北、西北地区耕地资源开垦，耕地开垦的结果是对西北及东北的生态环境造成破坏。

 In order to study land-use and land-cover change in China in 1990s, two periods of Landsat TM imgery in the early and late of 1990s are interpretated to get the vector datasets. Farmland is human-induced land type and the core of all types of land. The temporal-spatial characteristics of farmland is studied by the datasets.In recent ten years, 3.24 hm² cropland decreased and 46.29% was converted into urban, rural and industrial land; 38. 28% was converted into forest and grassland; 11.29% was converted into water; 4.14% was converted into marass, sand and aboundened. Urban encroachment on cropland was concentrated in Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Guangdong, Beijing, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Guangxi and Shanghai. Rural encroachment on cropland was concentrated in Jiangsu, Hebei, Anhui, Shandong, Guangdong, Xinjiang, Henan, Beijing, Shaanxi, Zhejiang,Sichuan, Gansu, Liaoning and Shanghai. 1.27×10⁶ hm² cropland was converted into forest and grassland and 47.91% was forest, 52.09% was grassland. Reforestation concentrated in Zhejiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Yunnan, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Guangdong, Sichuan, Fujian, Hunan,Jiangxi, Xinjiang and Beijing. Regrassland concentrated in Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Yunnan, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning. At the same time 6. 2×10⁶ hm²  land was neo-cultivated and 55.69% was from grassland, 28.67% from forest, 10.82% from unused land, 4.64% was from water. The neo-cultivated land from forest concentrated mainly in Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning and Jilin. The neo-cultivated land from grassland concentrated in Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang and Xinjiang. In eastern coastal area, the cropland decreased rapidly. Beijing decreased by 16.04% and Shanghai 8.43%, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong and Hainan decreased rapidly while Hubei, Anhui, Fujian, Chongqing, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Tibet decreased rarely. In middle and western area, the cropland increased. Ningxia increased by 13.78%, Heilongjiang increased by 12.85% and Inner Mongolia increased by 8.44%. Jilin, Xinjiang,Qinghai, Liaoning, Gansu increased. Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou increased rarely. The high-productive cropland is located in coastal area and the productivity of the cropland in border area is lower, so the grain production is threatened.