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RSEI-Based Assessment of Ecological Quality in an Alpine Transitional Region Incorporating Climate Accumulation Effects and Multiscale Drivers.

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Title: RSEI-Based Assessment of Ecological Quality in an Alpine Transitional Region Incorporating Climate Accumulation Effects and Multiscale Drivers.
Authors: Wu, Xiaojuan1,2,3,4,5 (AUTHOR), Niu, Hao1,2 (AUTHOR) niuhaocuit@163.com, Xiao, Chenchao3,6 (AUTHOR), Gao, Yudong3,4 (AUTHOR), Ren, Boyao1,5 (AUTHOR), Ning, Kexin1,6 (AUTHOR), Peng, Junyi1 (AUTHOR), Xu, Weixin1,2 (AUTHOR), Lu, Xiaoning1,3 (AUTHOR)
Source: Remote Sensing. Sep2026, Vol. 18 Issue 18, p3120. 28p.
Subjects: Normalized difference vegetation index, Climate change, Adaptive natural resource management, Environmental quality, Mountain ecology, Spatiotemporal processes, Alpine regions
Geographic Terms: Qinghai Sheng (China), Tibetan Plateau
Abstract: Highlights: What are the main findings? Ecological quality in the study area improved during 2000–2020, whereas western grasslands and urban peripheries experienced persistent localized degradation. NDVI was the dominant internal structural contributor, with the primary external climatic constraint shifting from temperature to precipitation over the study period. What are the implications of the main findings? The weighted RSEI framework combining the first three principal components with accumulated climatic variables offers a robust tool for long-term alpine ecological monitoring. The strong spatial heterogeneity in drivers supports a conserve east, restore west differentiated management strategy for regional ecological quality in the alpine transitional region. The ecological security of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) alpine transitional region plays a critical role in regional and global climate regulation. Conventional Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI) assessments, however, rely on single-date imagery and often fail to account for cumulative climatic effects. To address this limitation, we refined the traditional RSEI through a multi-principal component weighting scheme that retains over 95% of the cumulative variance. Using imagery from five discrete periods between 2000 and 2020, we evaluated the spatiotemporal evolution of regional ecological quality in the alpine transitional region in Gannan. Results show an overall improvement: mean RSEI increased from 0.63 to 0.69, Good/Excellent areas expanded from 65.6% to 79.9%, and the interquartile range decreased from 0.19 to 0.14. Spatially, ~59% of the area improved, whereas ~41% degraded, primarily in western transition zones and urban peripheries. As an evaluation of internal index contributions, NDVI remained the dominant structural component. Climatic constraints shifted from temperature dominance between 2005 and 2010 to precipitation dominance by 2020, with all interactions exhibiting synergistic enhancement. Cumulative climatic variables during the growing season, with an optimal seven month accumulation window, substantially outperformed single month variables in explaining ecological variations. Specifically, mean q-values increased by 0.12 for temperature and 0.18 for precipitation, yielding a 15 to 25 percent relative improvement, which validates the necessity of incorporating cumulative effects. This framework provides a robust foundation for long-term monitoring and differentiated management of fragile alpine ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Remote Sensing is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: RSEI-Based Assessment of Ecological Quality in an Alpine Transitional Region Incorporating Climate Accumulation Effects and Multiscale Drivers.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Remote+Sensing%22">Remote Sensing</searchLink>. Sep2026, Vol. 18 Issue 18, p3120. 28p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Normalized+difference+vegetation+index%22">Normalized difference vegetation index</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Climate+change%22">Climate change</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Adaptive+natural+resource+management%22">Adaptive natural resource management</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Environmental+quality%22">Environmental quality</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mountain+ecology%22">Mountain ecology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Spatiotemporal+processes%22">Spatiotemporal processes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Alpine+regions%22">Alpine regions</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Qinghai+Sheng+%28China%29%22">Qinghai Sheng (China)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Tibetan+Plateau%22">Tibetan Plateau</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Highlights: What are the main findings? Ecological quality in the study area improved during 2000–2020, whereas western grasslands and urban peripheries experienced persistent localized degradation. NDVI was the dominant internal structural contributor, with the primary external climatic constraint shifting from temperature to precipitation over the study period. What are the implications of the main findings? The weighted RSEI framework combining the first three principal components with accumulated climatic variables offers a robust tool for long-term alpine ecological monitoring. The strong spatial heterogeneity in drivers supports a conserve east, restore west differentiated management strategy for regional ecological quality in the alpine transitional region. The ecological security of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) alpine transitional region plays a critical role in regional and global climate regulation. Conventional Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI) assessments, however, rely on single-date imagery and often fail to account for cumulative climatic effects. To address this limitation, we refined the traditional RSEI through a multi-principal component weighting scheme that retains over 95% of the cumulative variance. Using imagery from five discrete periods between 2000 and 2020, we evaluated the spatiotemporal evolution of regional ecological quality in the alpine transitional region in Gannan. Results show an overall improvement: mean RSEI increased from 0.63 to 0.69, Good/Excellent areas expanded from 65.6% to 79.9%, and the interquartile range decreased from 0.19 to 0.14. Spatially, ~59% of the area improved, whereas ~41% degraded, primarily in western transition zones and urban peripheries. As an evaluation of internal index contributions, NDVI remained the dominant structural component. Climatic constraints shifted from temperature dominance between 2005 and 2010 to precipitation dominance by 2020, with all interactions exhibiting synergistic enhancement. Cumulative climatic variables during the growing season, with an optimal seven month accumulation window, substantially outperformed single month variables in explaining ecological variations. Specifically, mean q-values increased by 0.12 for temperature and 0.18 for precipitation, yielding a 15 to 25 percent relative improvement, which validates the necessity of incorporating cumulative effects. This framework provides a robust foundation for long-term monitoring and differentiated management of fragile alpine ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Remote Sensing is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.3390/rs18183120
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 28
        StartPage: 3120
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Normalized difference vegetation index
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Climate change
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Adaptive natural resource management
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Environmental quality
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      – SubjectFull: Mountain ecology
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      – SubjectFull: Spatiotemporal processes
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      – SubjectFull: Alpine regions
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Qinghai Sheng (China)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Tibetan Plateau
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: RSEI-Based Assessment of Ecological Quality in an Alpine Transitional Region Incorporating Climate Accumulation Effects and Multiscale Drivers.
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              Text: Sep2026
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              Y: 2026
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