Study on the Evolution of the Mountain Ecological Environment Based on Remote Sensing and Water Footprints: Case Study of Northwestern Sichuan, Southwest China

The unique geographical conditions in southwestern China lead to a fragile ecological balance and uneven geographical distribution of water resources. This study takes the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture as its research subject, investigating the connection between water resources and th...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lei Huang, Jiangtao Xiao, Zhiquan Zhou, Ping Ren
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/23/4412
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850060348389851136
author Lei Huang
Jiangtao Xiao
Zhiquan Zhou
Ping Ren
author_facet Lei Huang
Jiangtao Xiao
Zhiquan Zhou
Ping Ren
author_sort Lei Huang
collection DOAJ
description The unique geographical conditions in southwestern China lead to a fragile ecological balance and uneven geographical distribution of water resources. This study takes the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture as its research subject, investigating the connection between water resources and the ecological environment in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, which is of paramount importance. Given this, the current study constructs the remote sensing ecological index and water footprint for the period spanning from 2000 through 2020, analyses the coordination status of the two by using the coupling coordination degree, and then combines it with a detector to determine the primary drivers impacting the state of the ecological environment. The outcomes reveal that: (1) The ecological environment of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture gradually improved from 2000 through 2020, and the excellent ecological environment area observed within the study’s scope is primarily focused in the eastern part. The poor ecological environment area is focused mainly in the northwestern part within the study’s scope. (2) The total water footprint of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture has increased year by year, with agricultural water consumption comprising an immense 78% proportion, dominating the total water footprint. (3) The coupled coordination degree of the remote sensing ecological index and the water footprint shows a rising trend in general, turning from a barely coordinated stage to an intermediate coordinated stage. (4) The geodetector results show that all factor interactions were dual-factor enhancement or nonlinear enhancement, and the WET, NDBSI and NDVI factors contributed the most. The above results can provide important guidance for utilizing water resources and protecting the ecological environment in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture.
format Article
id doaj-art-ba95cff5d16f4975898795017f1a4dfd
institution DOAJ
issn 2072-4292
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Remote Sensing
spelling doaj-art-ba95cff5d16f4975898795017f1a4dfd2025-08-20T02:50:36ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922024-11-011623441210.3390/rs16234412Study on the Evolution of the Mountain Ecological Environment Based on Remote Sensing and Water Footprints: Case Study of Northwestern Sichuan, Southwest ChinaLei Huang0Jiangtao Xiao1Zhiquan Zhou2Ping Ren3Key Evaluation and Monitoring in Southwest China, Ministry of Education, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, ChinaKey Evaluation and Monitoring in Southwest China, Ministry of Education, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, ChinaKey Evaluation and Monitoring in Southwest China, Ministry of Education, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, ChinaKey Evaluation and Monitoring in Southwest China, Ministry of Education, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, ChinaThe unique geographical conditions in southwestern China lead to a fragile ecological balance and uneven geographical distribution of water resources. This study takes the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture as its research subject, investigating the connection between water resources and the ecological environment in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, which is of paramount importance. Given this, the current study constructs the remote sensing ecological index and water footprint for the period spanning from 2000 through 2020, analyses the coordination status of the two by using the coupling coordination degree, and then combines it with a detector to determine the primary drivers impacting the state of the ecological environment. The outcomes reveal that: (1) The ecological environment of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture gradually improved from 2000 through 2020, and the excellent ecological environment area observed within the study’s scope is primarily focused in the eastern part. The poor ecological environment area is focused mainly in the northwestern part within the study’s scope. (2) The total water footprint of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture has increased year by year, with agricultural water consumption comprising an immense 78% proportion, dominating the total water footprint. (3) The coupled coordination degree of the remote sensing ecological index and the water footprint shows a rising trend in general, turning from a barely coordinated stage to an intermediate coordinated stage. (4) The geodetector results show that all factor interactions were dual-factor enhancement or nonlinear enhancement, and the WET, NDBSI and NDVI factors contributed the most. The above results can provide important guidance for utilizing water resources and protecting the ecological environment in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/23/4412remote sensing ecological indexwater footprintcoupled coordinationecological environmentgeographical detectorAba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture
spellingShingle Lei Huang
Jiangtao Xiao
Zhiquan Zhou
Ping Ren
Study on the Evolution of the Mountain Ecological Environment Based on Remote Sensing and Water Footprints: Case Study of Northwestern Sichuan, Southwest China
Remote Sensing
remote sensing ecological index
water footprint
coupled coordination
ecological environment
geographical detector
Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture
title Study on the Evolution of the Mountain Ecological Environment Based on Remote Sensing and Water Footprints: Case Study of Northwestern Sichuan, Southwest China
title_full Study on the Evolution of the Mountain Ecological Environment Based on Remote Sensing and Water Footprints: Case Study of Northwestern Sichuan, Southwest China
title_fullStr Study on the Evolution of the Mountain Ecological Environment Based on Remote Sensing and Water Footprints: Case Study of Northwestern Sichuan, Southwest China
title_full_unstemmed Study on the Evolution of the Mountain Ecological Environment Based on Remote Sensing and Water Footprints: Case Study of Northwestern Sichuan, Southwest China
title_short Study on the Evolution of the Mountain Ecological Environment Based on Remote Sensing and Water Footprints: Case Study of Northwestern Sichuan, Southwest China
title_sort study on the evolution of the mountain ecological environment based on remote sensing and water footprints case study of northwestern sichuan southwest china
topic remote sensing ecological index
water footprint
coupled coordination
ecological environment
geographical detector
Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/23/4412
work_keys_str_mv AT leihuang studyontheevolutionofthemountainecologicalenvironmentbasedonremotesensingandwaterfootprintscasestudyofnorthwesternsichuansouthwestchina
AT jiangtaoxiao studyontheevolutionofthemountainecologicalenvironmentbasedonremotesensingandwaterfootprintscasestudyofnorthwesternsichuansouthwestchina
AT zhiquanzhou studyontheevolutionofthemountainecologicalenvironmentbasedonremotesensingandwaterfootprintscasestudyofnorthwesternsichuansouthwestchina
AT pingren studyontheevolutionofthemountainecologicalenvironmentbasedonremotesensingandwaterfootprintscasestudyofnorthwesternsichuansouthwestchina