Vegetation Change and Eco-Environmental Quality Evaluation in the Loess Plateau of China from 2000 to 2020

Vegetation change and ecological quality of the Loess Plateau (LP) are directly related to ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. Based on LP ecological zoning and multisource remote sensing data, we analyzed vegetation change and its relationship with climate, terrestrial water storage (TWS), and land use/cover change from 2000 to 2020, using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), fraction of vegetation cover (FVC), and net primary productivity (NPP). And ecological environmental quality was evaluated based on the remote sensing ecological index (RSEI). The results showed that the spatial distribution pattern of NDVI, FVC and NPP decreased from southeast to northwest in the LP as a whole. Vegetation in the LP recovered significantly, and NDVI, FVC, and NPP showed significant increases of 35.66%, 34%, and 54.69%, respectively. The average NDVI and FVC in the earth–rocky mountainous region and river valley plain region (Area D) were the highest, but the growth rate was the slowest. The average NDVI, FVC, and growth rates in the loess hilly and gully regions (Area B) were slightly higher than those in the loess sorghum gully region (Area A). The average NDVI, FVC, and NPP in the sandy land and agricultural irrigation regions (Area C) were the lowest but showed significant increase. RSEI in most LP areas changed from poor to medium, increasing by 43.45%. Precipitation is the basic factor affecting vegetation cover pattern, with the increase (40.79 mm/10a) promoting vegetation restoration in the LP. Vegetation restoration lost much TWS (−0.6 mm/month), and Area D had the highest average NDVI, FVC, and NPP but the largest TWS loss. Anthropogenic land use/cover change (LUCC) (decrease in cultivated land and unused land; increase in forest, grassland, and construction land) is the primary factor affecting LP vegetation change. This study provides a scientific reference for further vegetation restoration in the LP.