Spatiotemporal change and driving factors of ecological status in Inner Mongolia based on the modified remote sensing ecological index

Abstract Remote sensing monitoring of regional ecological quality has advanced significantly with the rapid developments of remote sensing technology. At present, remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) has been widely used in ecological status monitoring. However, RSEI was proposed for urban environments, and the rationality and accuracy of its applicability to desert-dominated arid zone ecosystems need to be demonstrated. Therefore, in this study, we incorporated desertification monitoring index (DMI) and salinity monitoring index (SMI) to RSEI and developed the modified remote sensing ecological index (MRSEI) for arid regions. Moreover, we analyzed the stability of MRSEI in ecological status monitoring for arid regions. The MRSEI was then used to evaluate the ecological quality of Inner Mongolia from 2000 to 2020 and exploring its causes. The results show that (1) Although the evaluation results of RSEI and MRSEI are more consistent in areas with high ecological status grades, the MRSEI results are more cautious and reliable in extreme conditions (e.g., desertification, salinization) than the RSEI. (2) Approximately 87.66% of ecological quality have improved or remain stable from 2000 to 2020, but the remaining areas (accounting for 12.34% of the whole area) are still under degraded conditions. This demonstrates that although local governments have made some progress in ecological conservation, the areas that are fluctuating or degraded still require protection or management. (3) In Inner Mongolia, the ecological quality which drove by precipitation (P) & temperature (T) accounting for 26.67% of the study area, population density (D) and GDP per capita (G) affected 13.23% of regional ecological quality. Overall, this research is crucial for evaluating spatial and temporal changes in arid region ecology and establishing conservation strategies.