## 5 Discussion  
### Alteration in the Ecological Quality of Vegetation  
From 2000 to 2022, the growing season EQI in the Tarim Basin exhibited a significant increasing trend, aligning with the observed patterns of vegetation variation within Xinjiang [61], Northwestern China [16], and across the entirety of China [62]. From Figure 4, it can be seen that in 2007, the extreme precipitation indices RX1d, RX5d, and SDII were  
Figure 7: The contribution rates of different extreme climate factors to different vegetation types. (**a**) Tarim Basin; (**b**) forest; (**c**) shrub; (**d**) meadow; (**e**) desert vegetation; (**f**) agricultural vegetation.  
relatively high, which could improve vegetation growth in the short term after rainfall. However, the number of consecutive dry days (CDD) in 2007 was significantly higher than in most years, i.e., there was extreme drought in the northwest of the Tarim Basin in 2007 [63], and the TX90P was also higher than in neighboring years. Therefore, the lowest EQI value in the Tarim Basin in 2007 may be related to the phenomenon of prolonged drought and high daily temperatures. In contrast, in 2015, the extreme precipitation indices RX1d, RX5d, and SDII were relatively high, and the CDD was lower, promoting vegetation growth, resulting in a higher EQI value in 2015 compared to other years. The vegetation in the Tarim Basin is mainly agricultural, so the EQI for agricultural vegetation is the highest [61]. This disparity can be attributed to the presence of a larger oasis area on the northern edge, which surpasses that on the southern edge. This improvement in the vegetation in the Tarim Basin is attributed not only to climatic factors but also to the positive outcomes of ecological restoration initiatives. With increasing human activities, oasis agriculture has been vigorously developed [64]. The implementation of various projects, including the Tarim River water diversion project, the Three-North Shelterbelt Project, and sand control measures, has been carried out in a sequential manner [65; 66]. These projects have augmented the expanse of the oasis area within the basin and have also increased the vegetation coverage within the transitional area between the desert and the oasis. The vegetation conditions in the Tarim Basin have obviously improved. Due to the growth of population and the development of the social economy, human activities have increasingly interfered with the ecological system, leading to a reduction of vegetation in arid areas. Therefore, human activities have both a promoting and inhibiting effect on the EQI of the Tarim Basin [48]. In addition, the superimposed effects of human activities, climate change, and other factors have caused the EQI of the Tarim Basin to show a fluctuating upward trend. The EQI values of different vegetation types in the basin all show an increasing trend. Among them, agricultural vegetation has the fastest increasing trend in terms of the EQI. This can be attributed to the expansion of oasis agriculture within the Tarim Basin, which has led to the cultivation of surrounding grasslands and unused land into farmland, promoting the greening of the oasis edges [67]. Therefore, the growth rate of agricultural vegetation in terms of the EQI (3.71/10a) is the fastest. The desert vegetation is sparse due to harsh living conditions and is also impacted by the limited number of ecological rehabilitation projects. Therefore, the desert vegetation EQI is the lowest and has the slowest growth rate (1.45/10a).