Urban Ecological Resilience and Transitions in the Yangtze River Delta

Insights From Remote Sensing Analytics

Bibliographic Data

ID21647992
AuthorsLifu Chai (Ningbo Alatu Digital Technology Company Ltd. Ningbo China), Huiming Ke (Ningbo Alatu Digital Technology Company Ltd. Ningbo China), H W Ke (0000-0003-1463-7291, Ningbo University of Technology), Yongping Li (0000-0002-3253-4088, Ningbo University of Technology), Yuehao Li (0000-0001-9210-8569, Ningbo Alatu Digital Technology Company Ltd. Ningbo China), Su Zhang (0000-0002-7743-5892, Ningbo Alatu Digital Technology Company Ltd. Ningbo China), Zhang Su (0009-0008-6400-3709, Ningbo University of Technology), Chen Cao (0000-0001-9132-6644, Ningbo Alatu Digital Technology Company Ltd. Ningbo China), Cao Chen (0000-0002-2183-9855, Ningbo University of Technology), Xiaoyi Wang (0000-0001-7748-2296, Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology Chinese Academy of Sciences Chongqing China, corresponding author), Mingjie Xu (0000-0002-3466-816X, School of Resource and Environmental Sciences Wuhan University Wuhan China), Zongmei Chen (0000-0002-0395-813X, Ningbo Alatu Digital Technology Company Ltd. Ningbo China), Yanfei Wang (0009-0000-6946-2690, Ningbo Alatu Digital Technology Company Ltd. Ningbo China), Lifeng Zhang (0000-0002-2333-4826, Ningbo Alatu Digital Technology Company Ltd. Ningbo China)
Year2026
Volume37
Issue9
Pages4314-4335
Publication date2026-05-30
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLand Degradation and Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1085-3278 • E-ISSN: 1099-145X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ldr.70375
OpenAlexW4417289267
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited44

Ecological environmental quality (EEQ) directly influences public health, resource availability, and climate resilience for national ecological security and sustainable development. Urban agglomerations experience growing ecological stress under rapid urbanization, yet integrated assessments of EEQ dynamics remain limited. This study develops a Novel Remote Sensing Ecological Index (NRSEI) on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform by integrating multi‐source datasets, including Landsat imagery and NPP–VIIRS nighttime light data. The Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration (YRDUA) is selected as the study area to analyze long‐term variations in EEQ. The NRSEI integrates five core indicators, namely vegetation greenness, surface wetness, land surface temperature, air pollution represented by PM 2.5 , and human activity intensity, providing a comprehensive assessment of EEQ. Results from 2003 to 2023 reveal an “N‐shaped” temporal pattern: slight improvement (2003–2008), decline (2008–2018), and moderate recovery (2018–2023). Spatially, EEQ exhibits a clear northwest–southeast gradient, with lower values in industrial–agricultural zones and higher values in mountainous and coastal areas. Geographical Detector analysis identifies elevation, mean temperature, and economic development as dominant drivers of EEQ heterogeneity, with synergistic effects exceeding individual influences. Overall, this study establishes a refined and scalable framework for long‐term, high‐resolution ecological monitoring and provides empirical evidence to guide balanced urban and ecological development in rapidly urbanizing regions

Ecosystem services · Normalized Difference Vegetation Index · Psychological resilience · Satellite imagery · Sustainable development · Urban agglomeration · Urban ecosystem · Urbanization · Impact of Light on Environment and Health · Land Use and Ecosystem Services · Remote Sensing in Agriculture

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