Land use and RSEI spatial-temporal changes in Horqin Sandland (Inner Mongolia, China)

Abstract

Horqin sandland, one of China's four major sand areas, is rich in natural resources. However, the ecological quality of this region has deteriorated in recent years due to human activities. To achieve economic sustainability in Horqin Sandland, the premise is to assess the quality of the environment and analyse their response to human activities. Consequently, this study utilized Google Earth Engine (GEE) and Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI) to analyse the environmental quality of the Horqin Sandland (China) from 2002 to 2021. The results showed that (1) the average RSEI of the Horqin Sandland ranged between 0.386 and 0.547 from 2002 to 2021. It was observed that the southern and western regions exhibited significantly poorer environmental quality. (2) The average RSEI level in Horqin Sandland was 0.466, with the lowest mean value in 2010 (0.386) and the highest in 2017 (0.547). Sixty percent of the studied area exhibited high standards of environmental quality. (3) Compared to the contribution of individual factors, multi-factor interactions exert a more pronounced and statistically significant impact on ecological quality. (4) The Global Moran's I values for the years 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2021 were observed to be 0.820, 0.813, 0.790, and 0.782, respectively. These findings suggest a significant positive correlation between the spatial patterns of ecological environment quality and the degradation resulting from anthropogenic activities. Our results support ecological management and environmental protection in the Horqin Sandland of China.