Assessing Spatiotemporal Changes and Drivers of Ecological Quality in Youjiang River Valley Using RSEI and Random Forest

Yu Wang, Han Liu, Li Wang (), Lingling Sang, Lili Wang, Tengyun Hu (), Fan Jiang, Jinlin Cai and Ke Lai
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Yu Wang: National Disaster Reduction Center of China, Ministry of Emergency Management, Beijing 100124, China
Han Liu: Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing 100035, China
Li Wang: National Geological Library of China, Beijing 100083, China
Lingling Sang: Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing 100035, China
Lili Wang: Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing 100035, China
Tengyun Hu: School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Fan Jiang: Technical Innovation Center of Mine Geological Environmental Restoration Engineering in Southern Karst Area, Ministry of Natural Resources, Nanning 530028, China
Jinlin Cai: Technical Innovation Center of Mine Geological Environmental Restoration Engineering in Southern Karst Area, Ministry of Natural Resources, Nanning 530028, China
Ke Lai: Technical Innovation Center of Mine Geological Environmental Restoration Engineering in Southern Karst Area, Ministry of Natural Resources, Nanning 530028, China

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-24

Abstract: Assessing ecological quality in mining areas is critical for environmental protection and sustainable resource management. However, most previous studies concentrate on large-scale analysis, overlooking fine-scale assessment in mining areas. To address this issue, this study proposed a novel analysis framework for mining areas by integrating high-resolution Landsat data, the Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI), and the Random Forest regression method. Based on the framework, four decades of spatiotemporal dynamics and drivers of ecological quality were revealed in Youjiang River Valley. Results showed that from 1986 to 2024, ecological quality in Youjiang River Valley exhibited a fluctuating upward trend (slope = 0.004/year), with notable improvement concentrated in the most recent decade. Spatially, areas with a significant increasing trend in RSEI (48.71%) were mainly located in natural vegetation regions, whereas areas with a significant decreasing trend (9.11%) were concentrated in impervious surfaces and croplands in northern and central regions. Driver analysis indicates that anthropogenic factors played a crucial role in ecological quality changes. Specifically, land use intensity, precipitation, and sunshine duration were main determinants. These findings offer a comprehensive understanding of ecological quality evolution in subtropical karst mining areas and provide crucial insights for conservation and restoration efforts in Youjiang River Valley.

Keywords: ecological quality assessment; remote sensing ecological index; driving factor analysis; random forest; Youjiang River; subtropical karst mining area; ecological restoration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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