Exploring Dynamic Change of the Tidal Flat Aquaculture Area in the Shandong Peninsula (China) using Multitemporal Landsat Imagery (1990–2015)

Xu, M.; Cui, B.; Lan, S.; Li, D.; Wang, Y., and Jiang, B., 2020. Exploring dynamic change of the tidal flat aquaculture area in the Shandong Peninsula (China) using multitemporal Landsat imagery (1990–2015). In: Zheng, C.W.; Wang, Q.; Zhan, C., and Yang, S.B. (eds.), Air-Sea Interaction and Coastal Environments of the Maritime and Polar Silk Roads. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 99, pp. 197–202. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.In recent decades, the global distribution of tidal flat aquaculture has undergone great changes under climate change and economic development. In this study, the Shandong Peninsula in northeastern China was selected as the study area. Tidal flat aquaculture was extracted from multitemporal remote sensing data (TM and ETM+) between 1990 and 2015. The dynamic change of tidal flat aquaculture area and the reasons for spatial distribution variations were then analyzed. The results showed that: tidal flat aquaculture area in the Shandong Peninsula increased steadily by 1477.85 km2 (from 638.50 km2 to 2116.35 km2) between 1990 and 2015 at a rate of 59.70 km2•yr-1. The tidal flat aquaculture area in the Yellow River Delta accounted for 27.06% of the tidal flat aquaculture area in the Shandong Peninsula in 1990, increasing to 72.27% in 2015. Due to the influence of sea reclamation, tourism development, and other anthropogenic activities, the aquaculture area in Jiaozhou Bay gradually decreased from 14.45% in 1990 to 2.42% in 2015 shifting the geometric center of gravity for aquaculture on the peninsula from the southeast to the northwest. The spatial distribution was mainly influenced by coastal geology, landforms, and geomorphology. The Yellow River Delta was a key area for tidal flat aquaculture development in the Shandong Peninsula. Effective planning and management are critical to promoting sustainable development of tidal flat aquaculture.