An integrated assessment model of county level eco-environmental quality based on RS and GIS: A case study of Huidong County, Guangdong Province of South China

Based on the GIS data, statistical yearbook data, and the idea of "classifying indices first and weighting each index then", by adopting Kruskal-Wallis (χ2) test to confirm index weight, and in combining with RS/GIS software, this paper evaluated the eco-environmental quality of Huidong County, Guangdong Province of South China, aimed to approach the construction method of eco-environmental quality assessment index system and the method of confirming weight, and to establish an easily transplanted eco-environmental quality assessment model at county, town, and raster scales. The assessment at county scale showed that the overall eco-environmental quality of Huidong County was good, with the eco-environmental quality index (EQI) being 3.6. The assessment at town scale showed that Gaotan Town had the best eco-environmental quality (EQI=4.26), while Port Management Committee had the worst one (EQI=2.64). The assessment at raster scale showed that the eco-environmental quality of the economically developed region in southwest coast of Huidong County was fair or poor, with an area accounting for 21% or 23% of total area, respectively, while that of the economically undeveloped region in northeast mountains of Huidong County was good, with an area accounting for 56% of the total.