Remote Sensing-Based Study of Plant Cover and Urbanization in Kunming from 2000 to 2022

Reduced vegetation cover due to accelerated urbanization can lead to many ecological problems, and whether ecological conservation measures can effectively mitigate this effect remains to be assessed. This paper explores the influence of urbanization on vegetation cover and the performance of related ecological protection measures in Kunming. This paper reveals the significant negative correlation between NDVI and NDBI data during the period of 2000-2022 through linear regression analysis and Pearson correlation analysis, and combines spatial analyses to demonstrate the changes of vegetation cover in Kunming during the urbanization process. The study results indicated that the NDVI in Kunming City as a whole had a slow increasing trend, with 0.0020 per year, and NDBI had a slow decreasing trend with 0.0014 per year. And they are significantly negatively correlated with a Pearson correlation coefficient of -0.6168. In addition, the vegetation cover in non-urban areas and the area around Dianchi Lake has increased considerably, indicating that the ecological protection measures in the region are effective, but the vegetation cover in urban areas has still declined. The study provides an important scientific basis for ecological protection policies and sustainable urban planning in similar cities, and promotes urban ecological protection and green development.