Qira oasis is located in the middle of the TaNan region and represents a typical desert oasis ecosystem of the southern Xingjiang Province in northwest China. Several oases occur in this region that are totally dependent on rivers that originate from the Kunlun Mountains. The study area was selected as a SPOT 4 scene covering Qira oasis and its surroundings. This study pursues two goals: (1) to produce a landscape classification map, and (2) to evaluate the applicability of landscape pattern indices to a q...