Assessing the ecological environment quality response to land-use changes in arid zones: A case study of Linhe District, Inner Mongolia

Objective: Linhe District, within the Yellow River metropolitan area, faces ecological issues like arable land salinization and desertification. A swift and scientific analysis of the distribution and changes in the ecological environment quality of this area will aid Linhe District in rehabilitating saline-alkaline cultivated land and achieving comprehensive protection of the Yellow River—related ecological environment. Methods: This study utilized land four Landsat TM/OLI images (2005–2020) to develop a remote-sensing eco-index through principal component analysis of greenness, humidity, dryness, and temperature. The eco-index was overlaid with land-use change data to assess ecological responses to recent changes in Linhe District. Results: Results showed that the land-use structure has remained relatively stable over the past 15 years, with cultivated land having the highest eco-index value and unused land the lowest. Conclusions: The ecological index to rise from 0.5087 to 0.6837, indicating improved ecological quality in 64.96 km² due to land-use changes like conversions between cropland and grassland, urban and rural residential land to cropland, and forest land. Conversely, ecological degradation occurred over 161.89 km², primarily due to conversions from arable land to grassland and from arable land and grassland to urban and rural residential land.