Evolution pattern and driving mechanism of eco-environmental quality in arid oasis belt — A case study of oasis core area in Kashgar Delta

•Constructed a long-time series RSEI model based on GEE platform and Landsat data.•Revealed spatiotemporal characteristics and driving mechanism of RSEI.•Spatiotemporal evolution is closely related to river flow.•Land use patterns directly affect changes in ecosystem quality. Kashgar Oasis is an ecologically fragile area in the southern margin of the Tarim Basin, which is affected by both natural conditions and human activities. Exploring the spatiotemporal dynamics and driving factors of ecological environment quality in this area is significant for maintaining regional ecological security and ecological protection. This study aims to examine the multi-year RSEI, calculated based on the GEE platform from 1990 to 2020 in the study area, located in the core area of the Oasis. The trend analysis method analyzed the spatiotemporal pattern of RSEI and dynamic evolution. Additionally, the regularity of migration directions was explored through gravity transfer and the linear directional mean. Finally, the driving forces factors were quantified by geographic detectors. The results showed that: (1) The ecological environment quality of the study area showed an increasing trend from 1990 to 2020, with the mean value of RSEI increasing from 0.542 to 0.577, an overall increase of 6.84%. (2) The improved and stable areas account for 60.901% and 5.428%, respectively, and the improved areas were mainly distributed in a large area, while the degraded area was mainly mildly degraded and had a patchy structure. (3) The change direction of different grades showed an east–west extension trend, with areas of significant improvement and slight degradation being more aligned with river flow. (4) The results showed that land use and land cover (LULC), representing human activities, had the most significant explanatory power, and the q-value of single factor detection and interaction detection of LUC-GDP were 0.506 and 0.550, respectively. This indicated that the fluctuations of eco-environmental quality in this area are closely related to the local land use patterns. This study can provide a reference for implementing local ecological environment protection and environmental restoration projects.