ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Analysis of Ecological Environment Changes
Associate with Driving Factors in the Inland River
Basin of Northwest China Based on GeoDetector
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College of Energy and Power Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, China
Submission date: 2023-10-19
Final revision date: 2024-03-20
Acceptance date: 2024-03-29
Online publication date: 2024-08-16
Publication date: 2025-01-02
Corresponding author
Haocheng Ke
College of Energy and Power Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, 730050, Lanzhou, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2025;34(1):719-733
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Vegetation is an important part of the ecological environment, and the Heihe River Basin (HHRB)
is typical of the inland river basin of Northwest China. Analyzing the changes in the ecological
environment and its driving factors in the HHR plays a crucial role in the Northwest Arid Region of
China (NWARC). In this paper, we analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of NDVI in the HHR
and quantified the influence of the driving factors of NDVI using a GeoDetector. It analyzed the
correlation of the main driving factors and discussed the future trend of NDVI. Our research indicates
the change of NDVI from 2000 to 2022 in the HHR; it has a significant upward trend, and there is
significant spatial differentiation. It shows a pattern that increases from northwest to southeast. The area
of improved vegetation in the basin accounted for 77.46%, and the degraded area was only 9.71%, which
resulted in significant results of ecological restoration. In addition, the main influence detection results
of each environmental factor of NDVI in the catchment are elevation, sunshine duration, precipitation,
and temperature. The explanatory power of any two-factor interaction on the spatial variations of NDVI
in the basin was enhanced compared with that of the single-factor explanation. Finally, the maximum
and suitable ranges of risk of the environmental factors influencing NDVI were obtained. 61.92% of the
vegetation in the basin will continue to be improved in the future. This study can provide a theoretical
basis for ecological environmental protection and regional sustainable development in NWARC.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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