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ABSTRACT This paper studies the river wild-running and flooding areas in the north-central plain of Pingtung in early times. It explores the land use history and spatial differences of the areas in terms of cultural landscape, human agency, and natural environment. Based on specific historical backgrounds, including national policy, economy, technique, etc., the time is divided into four spans. The economic dimension is especially important for the landowners to take into consideration when they choose the ways of land use. During each period, the interaction between human agencies and land resulted in the variation and changes of land use in the research areas. From the era of Japanese rule to the present, this patch of riverside sediment land has been used mainly under the influence of policies and economic powers. During the Japanese occupation, industrial policies and the Official Immigration Project caused the land development. The colonial economy made the land use differ with the changes of land ownership. From 1946 to 1970, the ways of land use diversified because of the improvement of skills and the land ownership shift caused by the transfer of political power and the land reform. Economic factors had more influence upon land use. From 1971 to 2000, the overall economic environment of Taiwan transformed. Some factors-the loss of rural labor, the paddy field is transfered to introduction of policy, the market demand, the introduction of new technology, etc.-promoted a massive change on the ways of land use. From 2001 to the present, because of Taiwan’s joining in WTO and thus roused people’s concern about the environmental protection, the ways of land use have changed again. In terms of the spatial aspect, the usage of the riverside sediment land has regional differences. The whole research area includes two major topographies-alluvial fan and alluvial plain. Furthermore, the alluvial fan can be divided into the tip part, the middle part, and the rim part. According to the research, we can conclude that different topographies, soil, and hydrological conditions all influence the land use of the riverside sediment land. In spite of the improvement of modern technology, we can’t neglect the importance of natural environment toward land use. According to the research, many factors-global, national, or local-cause the changes of the sediment land use, and they have dynamic impacts among each other. In the progression of time, the landscape of the whole research area presents its diversities because of the mutual impacts between human agencies (including policy, economy, technique, etc.) and the natural environment.
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