## 4 Results  
### Change Characteristics of Vegetation Ecological Quality  
This study analyzed the annual mean (growing season) changes in EQI on an inter-annual scale. As depicted in Figure 2, the EQI in the Tarim Basin exhibited a significant increase from 2000 to 2022, growing at a rate of 1.52/10a (\(p<0.001\)). During this specified time frame, the EQI experienced its lowest value in 2007 (13.793), its highest value in 2015 (18.765), and maintained an average value of 16.603. The trend in the EQI change for all vegetation types exhibited similarity to the annual EQI change trend (Figure 2b), indicating a significant increasing trend. The range of the annual average EQI was found to be 9.899-59.355. The EQI growth rate of agricultural vegetation was the highest at 3.71/10a. On the other hand, desert vegetation exhibited the slowest growth rate, with a value of 1.45/10a. Figure 3a shows the average EQI's spatial distribution pattern in the Tarim Basin from 2000 to 2022. The EQI ranges from 0.12 to 78.15 across the study area. The regions with high EQI values in the Aksu region are primarily located at the juncture of the regions of Kuqa, Shaya, and Xinhe. Additionally, high EQI values are observed in Aksu city, Southern Wensu, Northern Awati, and Alar. The high-EQI areas in the Kashgar region are primarily found in Kashgar city, Shule, and Shufu to the north, and Yingjisha and Zepu to the south. The areas with a high-value EQI in the Hotan region are relatively scarce and mainly located in the oasis border areas in Southern Moyu, Southern Luopu, and Northern Hotan County. Of the high-EQI-value areas in the Bayingoleng Mongolin Autonomous Prefecture, the distribution is relatively limited and primarily concentrated in Krola city. The areas with low EQI values are primarily found in the Chemma, Ruoqiang, and Hotan regions located on the southern part near the above-described basin, as well as in the central Kashgar and Aksu regions situated on the northern part near the basin. The analysis reveals that the ecological vegetation quality in the northern margin of the basin surpasses that of the southern one. Additionally, the northern margin is characterized by a greater number of oases, whereas the southern margin is predominantly composed of \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c} \hline
**Description** & **Interaction** \\ \hline q (X\({}_{1}\cap X_{2}\)) \(<\) min(q(X\({}_{1}\)), q (X\({}_{2}\))) & Weakened, nonlinear (WN) \\ min(q(X\({}_{1}\)), q (X\({}_{2}\))) \(<\) q (X\({}_{1}\cap X_{2}\)) \(<\) max(q(X\({}_{1}\)), q (X\({}_{2}\))) & Weakened, unique (WU) \\ Max(q(X\({}_{1}\)), q(X\({}_{2}\))) \(<\) q (X\({}_{1}\cap X_{2}\)) \(<\) q(X\({}_{1}\)) \(+\) q(X\({}_{2}\)) & Enhanced, bilinear (EB) \\ q (X\({}_{1}\cap X_{2}\)) \(=\) q(X\({}_{1}\)) \(+\) q(X\({}_{2}\)) & Independent (I) \\ q (X\({}_{1}\cap X_{2}\)) \(>\) q(X\({}_{1}\)) \(+\) q(X\({}_{2}\)) & Enhanced, nonlinear (EN) \\ \hline \end{tabular} Note: X\({}_{1}\) and X\({}_{2}\) indicate impact factors.  
\end{table} 
Table 2: Interaction types of impact factors. Figure 2: Inter-annual variations in the EQI from 2000 to 2022. (**a**) Variations in the overall EQI within the Tarim Basin; (**b**) EQI fluctuations across different vegetation types. desert and gobi landforms, resulting in larger areas with sparse or no vegetation. This can be clearly observed in the regions of Chemma and Ruoqiang. The variation trend of the EQI for each pixel during the growing season in the basin between 2000 and 2022 ranges from \(-\)2.93 to 4.05 (Figure 3b). The spatial distribution of the EQI variation trends resembles that of the EQI mean values, where the EQI trend increased in about 49% of the region. As depicted in Figure 3c, the observed rise in the EQI in the Tarim Basin can be linked to both the enlargement of the oasis area and the augmentation of vegetation within the pre-existing oasis area. Consequently, the EQI in the vicinity of the oasis region exhibits a noticeable upward trajectory.