Abstract: Based on the features of the regional natural conditions and the peculiar situation in Xinjiang, a classification system of the cultivated land resources in Xinjiang is developed by using the technology and mothodology of satellite remote sensing and geographical information system and from a view point of transforming the mesoyield land and low-yield land and of rationally exploiting and utilizing the land resources. The classification system in mainly characterized by scientific, practical and serviceable features.
According to the features of natural resources in Xinjiang and the related data available, it is found that the information of the cultivated land in Xinjiang can be maximumly extracted and analyzed, and the types of various cultivated land resources can be classified by using the image data of wave band TM 4, 3, 2 from American satellite for continental resources, or by disintegrated them into individual ones, or by recomposing and reintegrating them in different sequences. For example, the false-colour composed data of wave band 4, 3, 2 can be used to clearly represent the features of cultivated land resources, vegetation, and waters, and can be used to easily distinguish the major categories of cultivated land, farming-suiting uncultivated land, and abandoned land. The data of individual wave band 3, 4 and the composed data of wave band 3, 3, 4 can be used to stress the difference of soil/crops and waters/land as well as the artifical characteristics, to enhance the features and colour of salinization, swarnpization, and desertification, and to easily distinguish the soil types and the degree of salinization, swampization and desertification of the farming-suiting wasteland and cultivated land. The composed image data of wave band 4, 4, 2 can be used to stress the information features of crops, growing situation and vegetation coverage. The data of wave band 2 can be used to represent the green albedo of luxuriant vegetation and to distinguish the artificial features, especially that of regulated fields and irrigation canal systems.
Form the information of the cultivated land and the features of regional natural conditions represented by the image data of wave band TM 4, 3, 2, it can be clearly found that in the Altay experimental region the natural conditions are relatively poor, the region is not rich in cultivated land resources, less in high-yield farmland, and with the big proportion of meso-yield farmland and low-yield farmland. Especially the proportion of the land with a thin soil layer is big, which is easy to form secondary salinization and swampization, to cause impoverished soil, and to bring about a serious impact to agricultural production. Moreover, the distribution, composed features and laws of cultivated land resources are influenced and controlled by the obvious difference of the regional natural conditions in the region. Natural conditions are different from the different regions and result in the different agricultural production conditions. Therefore, it is suggested to take measures suited to the local conditions in transformation of the mesoyield farmland and low-yield farmland, and to rationally exploit and utilize the cultivated land resources in the region.

Key words: typical region, cultivated land resources, remote sensing, Xinjiang