The integrated eco-environment assessment of the red soil hilly region based on GIS—A case study in Changsha City, China

The development of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) provides an effective means for studies of regional eco-environmental changes. Aiming at the red soil hilly region with an extremely vulnerable ecosystem, supported by GIS, this study established the environmental information system database for red soil hilly region, and evaluated the eco-environment quality in a typical area of this region—Changsha City. Based on the database, the study integrated Delphi, AHP and Integrated Eco-environment Assessment Index Method into the eco-environmental quality assessment in the study area. The results showed that only 7% of the total land area in Changsha (approximately 827.64 km2) is maintaining a higher or the highest grade of the eco-environmental quality. However, 52.4% of the total area (approximately 6187.14 km2) is of a worse or the worst grade of the eco-environmental quality. It was concluded that the entire eco-environmental quality of Changsha City has degraded rapidly due to the highly intense human activities in recent years.