The most significant changes of landscape in a certain period are landscape area changes and spatial changes of landscape patches.Based on transfer matrix and total amount change of landscape area,landscape space transfer index and landscape area change index were established,and then applied to analyze plain oasis and desert in Yutian County,Xinjiang Uyghur Nationality Autonomous Region,the results showed that landscape space transfer in this region was drastic,but total landscape area changed only slightly,thus space transfer index was much higher than area change index,which indicated that landscapes in arid area were given with particular spatial undulant features and sensitivity,while man-made landscapes(artificial oasis) are stable and expanding to some extent.With landscape space transfer index as the comprehensive indicator,space transfer intensity of landscape within a certain period can be demonstrated,which is favorable for the comparison of landscape change intensity among different types and within different periods,in addition,some macroscopic change features of landscapes can also be reflected by comprehensively analyzing landscape space transfer index and landscape area change index.
