本省鄕村土地利用自光復以來深受兩大力量之衝擊，一爲日愈增加之人口，二爲工業化與都市化之高速成長；人口之遽增迫使原有的農地利用壓力增大，而工業化與都市化的提升更造成了優良農地之縮減、農村勞力之外移、和環境公害之問題，以致於形成土地利用負回饋作用。因此，如何降低人口成長率，如何保留優良農地而不致於影響都市土地利用之效益，如何防治環境公害以及如何合理開發利用已有的邊際土地皆爲土地利用研究之重要課題。本文卽就如何合理開發利用山坡之問題以闡述，以個案研究之方式透過土地利用及其影響因子之探討作一分析及評估。

Rural land use in Taiwan has been influenced by two major forces since 1945. The one is the rapid increase of population, the other is due to the high growth rate of industrialization and urbanization. The rapid increase of has increased the burden on the limited fertile agricultural land; while the high growth rate of industrialization and urbanization has resulted in a decrease of fertile agricultural land, out-migration of rural labor forces, and environmental pollution. Therefore, how tackle the problems mentioned above and how to wisely develop and use the marginal land such as slopeland, tidal land and the land developed by the river process are the major concerns of land use research in Taiwan. In this article, some problems in developing slopeland for agricultural use will be discussed. Through an analysis of the existing land use, and related geographical factors in the case study of Tsaochiao rural community, the recommendations are assessed for further development of slopeland for agricultural use in Taiwan.