Monitoring of ecological environment quality in the Yangtze river delta region

The rapid urbanization of cities significantly depletes natural resources, posing substantial risks to both human well-being and sustainable development. Effectively and accurately assessing the quality of the ecological environment is critical for achieving sustainable development goals. This study focuses on the Yangtze River Delta region, utilizing the Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI) model. By selecting MODIS datasets and long-term land use data, five indicators— greenness, humidity, heat, dryness, and abundance—are extracted to evaluate the ecological quality of the region from 2001 to 2021 at three scales: pixel, city, and district levels. The findings reveal that: 1) The ecological quality of the region varies spatially from north to south and east to west, with preliminary analysis suggesting that this pattern is influenced by factors such as economic development, topography, and temperature. 2) Over the long term, most areas in the Yangtze River Delta have experienced a decline in ecological quality since 2001. This paper provides an objective and dynamic analysis of the region’s ecological environment by moving beyond administrative boundaries and examining long-term changes in the relevant indicators. The results offer valuable insights for the study of regional sustainable development and the formulation of strategies to improve ecological quality.