Identification of the Extent of Desertification in the Ring-Tarim Basin Based on the Desertification Composite Index (DCI)
Lei Xi
Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Desert Ecosystem and Global Change, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorZhao Qi
Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Desert Ecosystem and Global Change, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Yiming Feng
Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Desert Ecosystem and Global Change, Beijing, China
Correspondence:
Yiming Feng ([email protected])
Xiaoming Cao ([email protected])
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Xiaoming Cao
Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Desert Ecosystem and Global Change, Beijing, China
Correspondence:
Yiming Feng ([email protected])
Xiaoming Cao ([email protected])
Search for more papers by this authorMengcun Cui
Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Desert Ecosystem and Global Change, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorJiaxiu Zou
Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Desert Ecosystem and Global Change, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorLei Xi
Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Desert Ecosystem and Global Change, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorZhao Qi
Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Desert Ecosystem and Global Change, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Yiming Feng
Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Desert Ecosystem and Global Change, Beijing, China
Correspondence:
Yiming Feng ([email protected])
Xiaoming Cao ([email protected])
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Xiaoming Cao
Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Desert Ecosystem and Global Change, Beijing, China
Correspondence:
Yiming Feng ([email protected])
Xiaoming Cao ([email protected])
Search for more papers by this authorMengcun Cui
Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Desert Ecosystem and Global Change, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorJiaxiu Zou
Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Desert Ecosystem and Global Change, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorFunding: This work was supported by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration unveiled and led the project (Grant No. 202401), the Third Xingjiang Scientific Expedition and Research Program (Grant No. 2021xjkk0304) and The National Forestry and Grassland Science Data Center Desert Sub-Center (Grant No. 2005DKA32200).
ABSTRACT
Desertification is a critical global ecological and environmental challenge, posing direct threats to land productivity, biodiversity, and ecosystem stability. Effective desertification monitoring is fundamental for the development of prevention and mitigation strategies. However, existing remote sensing-based monitoring approaches often fail to comprehensively incorporate the natural physical characteristics of the land surface, leading to limitations in monitoring completeness. To address this gap, this study proposes a Desertification Composite Index (DCI) that integrates physical and natural surface attributes based on Landsat series remote sensing data. The study focuses on the Ring-Tarim Basin and selects six key remote sensing indicators: fraction vegetation coverage (FVC), temperature vegetation dryness index (TVDI), land surface albedo (Albedo), land surface temperature (LST), topsoil grain size index (TGSI), and the modified soil-adjusted vegetation index (MSAVI). The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was employed to assign weights to these indicators, constructing a comprehensive desertification index. The accuracy of the proposed index was validated using 109 UAV-measured field samples, yielding an overall accuracy of 0.86 and a Kappa coefficient of 0.8. Results indicate that desertification in the Ring-Tarim Basin exhibits distinct spatial heterogeneity: the western and northern regions experience relatively lower desertification degrees, whereas the eastern areas and desert margins are more severely affected. The proposed DCI-based approach enables accurate identification of desertification patterns across different regions and provides a reliable technical foundation for desertification control and ecological restoration strategies.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open Research
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.
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