Abstract: Based on the data of the three phases of wetland landscape evolution, the CA-Markov model was used to simulate temporal and spatial evolution processes of wetland landscape of the core area of Yancheng Nature Reserve as affected by different conditions, with a view to exploring impacts of natural and anthropogenic factors on the landscape of the area and trend of its evolution. Results show that human management altered the evolution processes of the wetland landscape in the northern section of the core area. During the period from 1987 to 2007, the reed marsh belt and the Spartina alterniflora marsh belt expanded rapidly in width, with their proportion in area increasing from 5.62% to 60.20%, and from 1.91%to 7.78%, respectively, thus cutting the proportion of seepweed marsh from 67.50 to 7.21%. its wetland landscape gradually changed in composition from four distinct belts (reed marsh – seepweed marsh – Spartina alterniflora marsh - mudflat) to three (reed marsh – Spartina alterniflora marsh - mudflat) and by 2013, the belt of seepweed marsh will have disappeared in the northern section. In the southeastern section of the core area, natural succession dominated the evolution of the landscape in structure. Dotted patches of Spartina alterniflora marsh in 1987 expanded and merged into a belt in 2007, with its proportion in area increasing from 2.75% to 36.54%. The belt of reed marsh increased steadily in area and the areas of seepweed marsh and rivers remained almost unchanged thus cutting the proportion of mudflat from 65.44% to 26.85. in the years to follow, the expansion of Spartina alterniflora marsh will slow down, while the other types of wetlands will keep going along their course of evolution. The wetland landscape will evolve in composition from three belts (reed marsh – seepweed marsh - mudflat) to four belts (reed marsh – seepweed marsh - Spartina alterniflora marsh - mudflat).

Key words: landscape evolution, CA-Markov model, wetland, human disturbance, the core area of the Yancheng Nature Reserve