Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Remote Sensing Ecological Index in Shanxi Province, China

Monitoring and evaluating the quality of the ecological environment is essential for regional sustainable development. In this study, we employ the Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI) to assess the spatiotemporal dynamics of ecological environmental quality in Shanxi Province and to identify its driving forces. Utilizing RSEI data, climatic records, digital elevation models, population statistics, and indicators of anthropogenic activity, we adopt Theil-Sen median slope estimation and the Mann-Kendall test to evaluate changes in ecological quality across Shanxi from 2000 to 2020. Furthermore, we apply the Geographic Detector model to quantify the relative influence of key factors on ecological environmental quality. Our results indicate that: (1) RSEI exhibited a slight upward trend from 2000 to 2005, declined between 2005 and 2010-primarily due to intensive coal mining-and subsequently improved markedly from 2010 to 2020 in response to ecological restoration initiatives. (2) The province's ecological quality displays a pronounced “superior in the south-moderate in the central-inferior in the north” pattern, with high-quality areas concentrated in mountainous regions and low-value zones predominantly located in coal-mining districts such as Datong and Shuozhou. (3) Geographic Detector analysis reveals that precipitation, land-use change, and coalmining intensity exert the greatest influence on Shanxi's ecological environmental quality.