Monitoring and Effect Evaluation of an Ecological Restoration Project Using Multi-Source Remote Sensing: A Case Study of Wuliangsuhai Watershed in China

Xiang Jia, Zhengxu Jin, Xiaoli Mei, Dong Wang, Ruoning Zhu, Xiaoxia Zhang, Zherui Huang, Caixia Li and Xiaoli Zhang ()
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Xiang Jia: Key Laboratory of Precision Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Zhengxu Jin: Key Laboratory of Precision Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Xiaoli Mei: The Third Construction Co., Ltd. of China Construction First Group, Beijing 100161, China
Dong Wang: The Third Construction Co., Ltd. of China Construction First Group, Beijing 100161, China
Ruoning Zhu: The Third Construction Co., Ltd. of China Construction First Group, Beijing 100161, China
Xiaoxia Zhang: The Third Construction Co., Ltd. of China Construction First Group, Beijing 100161, China
Zherui Huang: The Third Construction Co., Ltd. of China Construction First Group, Beijing 100161, China
Caixia Li: Key Laboratory of Precision Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Xiaoli Zhang: Key Laboratory of Precision Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 2, 1-17

Abstract: Quantitative assessment of the effectiveness of ecological restoration provides timely feedback on restoration efforts, and helps to accurately understand the extent of restoration, while providing scientific support for optimizing restoration programs. In recent decades, the Wuliangsuhai watershed in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has been affected by anthropogenic activities, resulting in an increasingly unbalanced ecological environment. In order to curb environmental degradation, the local government implemented the “mountain, water, forest, field, lake and grass ecological protection and restoration project of the Wuliangsuhai watershed” from 2018 to 2020. The project has been completed and there is an urgent need for remote sensing monitoring to aid in performance evaluation. We took the ecological protection and restoration area of the Wuliangsuhai watershed in China as the research object, applied multi-source remote sensing imagery and auxiliary data such as meteorology and geographic basic data, extracted information of each evaluation index before and after the implementation of this project, and used the entropy value method to determine the index weights to comprehensively evaluate the ecological restoration effect. The results showed that after the implementation of the ecological restoration project, the vegetation coverage was further improved, the effectiveness of desert management was obvious, soil and water conservation capacity was strengthened, the ecosystem became more stable, and the areas with good environment were mostly located in the central and eastern parts. A total of 37.86% of the areas had obvious ecological restoration effects, and all indicators were further improved. Among the main treatment areas, the restoration effect of the Wuliangsuhai water ecological restoration and biodiversity conservation area was the best. The restoration effect will be further accentuated over time. This study provides a scientific reference for the further management of the ecological environment in the watershed and can provide a reference for the evaluation of the ecological restoration effect in similar areas in the future.

Keywords: ecological restoration; effect evaluation; multi-source remote sensing; Wuliangsuhai watershed (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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