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Volume 14
Issue 9
10.3390/land14091708
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Assessing Spatiotemporal Changes and Drivers of Ecological Quality in Youjiang River Valley Using RSEI and Random Forest

by
Yu Wang
1,2,†,
Han Liu
3,4,†,
Li Wang
5,*,
Lingling Sang
3,
Lili Wang
3,
Tengyun Hu
6,7,*,
Fan Jiang
2,8,
Jinlin Cai
2,8 and
Ke Lai
2,8
1
National Disaster Reduction Center of China, Ministry of Emergency Management, Beijing 100124, China
2
Technical Innovation Center of Mine Geological Environmental Restoration Engineering in Southern Karst Area, Ministry of Natural Resources, Nanning 530028, China
3
Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing 100035, China
4
Science and Technology Innovation Bureau, State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, Beijing 100053, China
5
National Geological Library of China, Beijing 100083, China
6
School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
7
Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning and Design, Beijing 100045, China
8
Natural Resources Ecological Restoration Center of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning 530028, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Land 2025, 14(9), 1708; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14091708 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 6 July 2025 / Revised: 16 August 2025 / Accepted: 22 August 2025 / Published: 23 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Multi-Source Geographical Big Data in Land Use Decision-Making)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Assessing ecological quality in mining areas is critical for environmental protection and sustainable resource management. However, most previous studies concentrate on large-scale analysis, overlooking fine-scale assessment in mining areas. To address this issue, this study proposed a novel analysis framework for mining areas by integrating high-resolution Landsat data, the Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI), and the Random Forest regression method. Based on the framework, four decades of spatiotemporal dynamics and drivers of ecological quality were revealed in Youjiang River Valley. Results showed that from 1986 to 2024, ecological quality in Youjiang River Valley exhibited a fluctuating upward trend (slope = 0.004/year), with notable improvement concentrated in the most recent decade. Spatially, areas with a significant increasing trend in RSEI (48.71%) were mainly located in natural vegetation regions, whereas areas with a significant decreasing trend (9.11%) were concentrated in impervious surfaces and croplands in northern and central regions. Driver analysis indicates that anthropogenic factors played a crucial role in ecological quality changes. Specifically, land use intensity, precipitation, and sunshine duration were main determinants. These findings offer a comprehensive understanding of ecological quality evolution in subtropical karst mining areas and provide crucial insights for conservation and restoration efforts in Youjiang River Valley.
Keywords: ecological quality assessment; remote sensing ecological index; driving factor analysis; random forest; Youjiang River; subtropical karst mining area; ecological restoration ecological quality assessment; remote sensing ecological index; driving factor analysis; random forest; Youjiang River; subtropical karst mining area; ecological restoration

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Wang, Y.; Liu, H.; Wang, L.; Sang, L.; Wang, L.; Hu, T.; Jiang, F.; Cai, J.; Lai, K. Assessing Spatiotemporal Changes and Drivers of Ecological Quality in Youjiang River Valley Using RSEI and Random Forest. Land 2025, 14, 1708. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14091708

AMA Style

Wang Y, Liu H, Wang L, Sang L, Wang L, Hu T, Jiang F, Cai J, Lai K. Assessing Spatiotemporal Changes and Drivers of Ecological Quality in Youjiang River Valley Using RSEI and Random Forest. Land. 2025; 14(9):1708. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14091708

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wang, Yu, Han Liu, Li Wang, Lingling Sang, Lili Wang, Tengyun Hu, Fan Jiang, Jinlin Cai, and Ke Lai. 2025. "Assessing Spatiotemporal Changes and Drivers of Ecological Quality in Youjiang River Valley Using RSEI and Random Forest" Land 14, no. 9: 1708. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14091708

APA Style

Wang, Y., Liu, H., Wang, L., Sang, L., Wang, L., Hu, T., Jiang, F., Cai, J., & Lai, K. (2025). Assessing Spatiotemporal Changes and Drivers of Ecological Quality in Youjiang River Valley Using RSEI and Random Forest. Land, 14(9), 1708. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14091708

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