Monitoring and Analysis of the Driving Forces Behind Ecological and Environmental Quality at the County Scale Based on Remote Sensing Data

Chaohu Lake, as an important freshwater lake in China, mainly relies on surface runoff for water replenishment, and the environmental quality of the surrounding towns directly impacts the environment of Chaohu Lake. Given the characteristics of rich water resources and extensive river networks in the lake area, this paper utilizes the GEE platform and selects Landsat data from 1992 to 2022, taking Feidong County, one of the lake’s inlets, as the study area. We used the water benefit-based ecological index (WBEI) to monitor and evaluate the ecological quality of the study area and employ the Sen+MK trend analysis method to analyze the spatial-temporal characteristics of ecological quality changes. To explore the driving forces behind the spatial-temporal changes in the WBEI, this study selects land use type, elevation, slope, aspect, potential evapotranspiration, annual average precipitation, annual average temperature, and five characteristic factors used in the construction of the WBEI as influencing factors. Using the geo-detector method, the study analyzes the driving forces behind the spatial-temporal changes in the WBEI in the study area. Results show that the WBEI, considering water efficiency, integrates waterbody information into regional environmental quality assessments, comprehensively reflecting the ecological environment of lakeside cities. From 1992 to 2022, the WBEI of the study region shows an increasing trend, with an improved area accounting for 1110.42 km2, or 51.21% of the total area. Among these, the significantly improved area covers 372.9789 km2 or 17.2% of the total area, while the slightly improved area covers 737.4411 km2, corresponding to 34.01% of the total area. Interaction types of influencing factors include bivariate enhancement and nonlinear enhancement, with the primary interactive factors affecting the ecological environment quality change in Feidong County being CLCD∩RVI; changes in land use and vegetation cover are the main driving forces behind the changes in ecological and environmental quality in Feidong County. From 1992 to 2022, the main land type transformations in the study area were from arable land to other land types, with a significant conversion of arable land to construction land, which is the main reason for the degradation of local ecological and environmental quality. The results of this study can provide practical references and theoretical support for ecological environment assessment, governance, and improvement in areas with abundant water resources.