## 5 Conclusions  
This study developed a dual-index system of ecosystem health and greenness for evaluating the quality of ecological conservation projects in Inner Mongolia. Using Pycharm 2024.2.3, this study identified key areas based on longitude and latitude scales and obtained the following conclusions:  
(1) In 2022, the Ecological Health Index (EHI) for 104 counties and districts in Inner Mongolia ranged from 13.429 to 95.6552. High-value areas were primarily concentrated in forest and grassland regions, while low-value areas were mainly found in agricultural and pastoral zones, which intersect with deserts and the Gobi in western Inner Mongolia. The Ecological Pattern Index (EPI) showed a high value in forest and grassland areas and low values in agricultural and pastoral zones. The Ecological Stress Index (ESI) generally showed high values in agricultural and pastoral zones, with other areas displaying lower values. The Ecological Function Index (EFI) and Biodiversity Index (BI) generally decreased  
Figure 8: Results of regional positioning of different ecological quality levels. (**a**): Latitudinal scale; (**b**): Longitudinal scale. **Note**: The graph contains five lines, each representing a different level of Ecological Quality: red indicates “Unsatisfactory”, orange denotes “Mediocre”, yellow signifies “Moderate”, light green represents “Superior” and green signifies “Excellent”.  
from northeast to southwest, except for the northeastern part of the Xilingol League and the large and small Hingganling forests, where values were higher.  
(2) In 2022, the Ecological Greenness Index (EGI) for Inner Mongolia at the raster scale ranged from 0 to 90.2598. Excluding the Daxinganling woodland area, EGI values were predominantly low to medium and primarily concentrated in the deserts and desert grasslands of western Inner Mongolia and the central Inner Mongolia grasslands. Only the Daxinganling woodland area exhibited high values for the Leaf Area Index (LAI), while other areas showed low values. The NDVI and Gross Primary Production (GPP) index followed similar distribution patterns, both decreasing from northeast to southwest, although the forested areas of the western Yinshan Mountains showed higher values.  
(3) By applying the independent weight coefficient method, we found that ecosystem health and greenness were equally important, with a 50%:50% weight distribution.  
(4) In 2022, the Ecological Quality Index (EQI) at the raster scale in Inner Mongolia ranged from 7.61772 to 91.9857, with a spatial distribution showing higher values in the northeastern woodland areas, lower values in the desert, Gobi, and desert grassland areas in the west, and moderate values in the grasslands of Hulunbeier and Xilingol in the east.  
(5) The key areas for ecological quality evaluation were concentrated in the desert regions and a few urban areas in western Inner Mongolia, with coordinates ranging from 36\({}^{\circ}\)36\({}^{\prime}\)20.95\({}^{\prime\prime}\) N to 44\({}^{\circ}\)29\({}^{\prime}\)37.92\({}^{\prime\prime}\) N and 97\({}^{\circ}\)19\({}^{\prime}\)8.53\({}^{\prime\prime}\) E to 109\({}^{\circ}\)46\({}^{\prime}\)36.13\({}^{\prime\prime}\) E., covering approximately 23.65% of the study area.  
Conceptualization, J.Z.; methodology, J.Z., T.L., P.C. and Q.W.; software, T.L., P.C. and Q.W.; writing--original draft, T.L. and J.L.; writing--review and editing, H.Z., J.Z., T.L., P.C. and J.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2024 YFE0198604).  
The original contributions presented in this study are included in the article; further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.  
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.