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Arid Land Geography ›› 2025, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (10): 1828-1840.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2025.002

• Ecology and Environment • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Evaluation of the effectiveness of natural vegetation protection and restoration in Ebinur Lake Wetland National Nature Reserve based on normalized difference vegetation index

TANG Yuqian1(), MA Yufeng2, TANG Mengying1,3,4, XU Zhanjiang1, XIAO Yuxuan1, XIA Nan1,3,4(), MA Yonggang1,3,4   

  1. 1. College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, Xinjiang, China
    2. Administration of Xinjiang Ebinur Lake Wetland National Nature Reserve, Bole 833400, Xinjiang, China
    3. Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, Xinjiang, China
    4. Technology Innovation Center for Ecological Monitoring and Restoration of Desert-Oasis, MNR, Urumqi 830002, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2025-01-03 Revised:2025-02-04 Online:2025-10-25 Published:2025-10-27
  • Contact: XIA Nan E-mail:tyqtyq0228@163.com;xn_gis@xju.edu.cn

Abstract:

Ebinur Lake Wetland National Nature Reserve is an important ecological barrier in the arid zone of northwest China; the assessment of the effectiveness of its vegetation protection is of great significance in the maintenance of regional ecological security and the construction of ecological civilization. However, there is a lack of assessment of the effectiveness of vegetation protection at different protection levels (pre-establishment, autonomous region level, and the national level) and typical areas (human activities area or ecological restoration area). Based on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from 1995 to 2022, the effectiveness of vegetation restoration in protected areas was evaluated using the Mann-Kendall trend test, stability analysis, geographic detector, and Hurst index. The results showed that: (1) The vegetation cover of the protected area increased significantly, and the degraded area only accounted for 1.75%; the stability showed obvious spatial heterogeneity, and the areas of relatively low fluctuation and medium fluctuation were widely distributed. (2) The protected area established has positively impacted the vegetation cover, and the degree of vegetation improvement showed a phased increase, with the most significant improvement occurring after upgrading to a national nature reserve. However, the interaction between vegetation restoration and human activities is complex, and the degree of improvement may be related to the original land use status. Land use type was the main driver of vegetation cover change and had a strong influence when interacting with other influencing factors. (3) Analysis of the Hurst index revealed significant future vegetation changes in the protected area, with 50.26% of the area showing reverse persistence. Overall, 50.07% of the areas that were improved in the past may be degraded in the future, and there is a need to focus on these potential areas of degradation and implement appropriate conservation measures.

Key words: protection effectiveness, NDVI, trend analysis, stability analysis, Ebinur Lake Wetland National Nature Reserve