Evaluation of the Ecological Environment Quality of the Kuye River Source Basin Using the Remote Sensing Ecological Index

Qiang Liu, Feihong Yu () and Xingmin Mu ()
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Qiang Liu: College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Tianshui Normal University, Tianshui 741000, China
Feihong Yu: College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Tianshui Normal University, Tianshui 741000, China
Xingmin Mu: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 19, 1-21

Abstract: Landsat remote sensing images obtained from 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020 were analyzed. The normalized vegetation index (NDVI), moisture index (WET), land surface temperature (LST), and normalized building-soil index (NDBSI) were extracted based on the four aspects of greenness, humidity, heat, and dryness. The Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI) was calculated using principal component analysis to quantitatively analyze and dynamically monitor and evaluate the ecological environment changes in the Kuye River Basin over the past 20 years. From the perspective of spatial and temporal distribution, the ecological and environmental quality of Kuye River Basin had a downward trend from 2000 to 2020. The overall RSEI grade was medium or poor, and the average RSEI decreased. The proportion of excellent and good grade watershed areas decreased, whereas that of medium, low, and poor grade watershed areas increased over the study period. Spatially, RSEI decreased gradually from southeast to northwest. The degraded areas were mainly distributed in urban areas with frequent human activities. Conversely, the superior eco-environmental quality areas were mainly distributed in eastern sections of the watershed. Compared with 2000, the eco-environmental quality of the Yulin urban area and Shenmu County in the southern section of the watershed are worsening.

Keywords: remote sensing ecological index; ecological quality; spatial auto-correlation; human activity stress; climate change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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