## 3 Results and Discussion
### Spatio-Temporal Variation Characteristics of Vegetation Coverage  
The spatial distribution of vegetation coverage in the study area of desertification restoration in Xiwuzhumuqin Banner from 2019 to 2024 is shown in Figure 6, and the statistical results of area and proportion of each grade are shown in Table 4. It can be seen from Figure 6 that the vegetation coverage of the study is gradually increasing from 2019 to 2024. The vegetation coverage in most areas is on the rise, and the spatial distribution shows a gradual increasing trend from south to north. The high value areas of vegetation coverage are mostly distributed in the northern, central, southern, and some western regions of the study area. Among them, the southern and northern regions increased most significantly, the central region showed a slow sporadic patchy increase trend, while the southwest region of the study area showed a patchy decrease trend. This is because most of the area is dominated by bare soil and sandy land, with sparse vegetation and serious desertification. Figure 5: The variation trend of \(kNDVI\) in the study area: (**a**) 2019 (August); (**b**) 2024 (August). According to Table 3, the area of high-grade and higher-grade vegetation coverage in the study area increased by 40.46 km\({}^{2}\) and 54.88 km\({}^{2}\), respectively, from 2019 to 2024. The area of medium-grade vegetation coverage fluctuated a little, while the area of low-grade and lower-grade vegetation coverage decreased by 24.18 km\({}^{2}\) and 63.58 km\({}^{2}\), respectively. In general, from 2019 to 2024, the vegetation coverage in the study area of desertification \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multicolumn{1}{c}{**Year**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Parameter**} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**\(k\)_NDVI_ Vegetation Index Classification**} \\  & & **Low** & **Relatively Low** & **Medium** & **Relatively High** & **High** \\ \hline
2019 & Area (km\({}^{2}\)) & 82.96 & 134.27 & 113.69 & 70.07 & 52.42 \\  & Percentage (\%) & 17.98 & 29.1 & 24.64 & 16.92 & 11.36 \\
2024 & Area (km\({}^{2}\)) & 58.78 & 70.69 & 114.1 & 124.95 & 92.88 \\  & Percentage (\%) & 12.74 & 15.32 & 24.73 & 27.08 & 20.13 \\ Comparison of Results & Area (km\({}^{2}\)) & \(-\)24.18 & \(-\)63.58 & 0.41 & 54.88 & 40.46 \\  & Percentage (\%) & \(-\)5.24 & \(-\)13.78 & 0.09 & 10.16 & 8.77 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 4: Changes in the area and proportion of vegetation coverage grade in 2019 and 2024. Figure 6: The spatial distribution of vegetation coverage grade in the study area: (**a**) 2019; (**b**) 2024.  
restoration in Xiwuzhumuqin Banner showed a trend from a low level to high level, indicating that the vegetation increased significantly and the vegetation coverage showed an upward trend. Among them, the vegetation coverage in the study area reached 47.21% in 2024 and only 28.28% in 2019. According to the results of vegetation coverage, the vegetation coverage in the study area increased by 19 percentage points in 2024 compared with 2019. This change reflects the feasibility and effectiveness of measures such as ecological restoration and forest closure in improving vegetation growth and coverage in this area. Using the linear trend analysis method, the change trend of vegetation coverage was analyzed by the grid calculator of ArcGIS 10.8, and the final conclusion was divided into five grades by natural classification: significant increase, slight increase, basically unchanged, slight decrease, and significant decrease [30]. The results (Figure 7) show that from 2019 to 2024, the overall vegetation coverage trend in the study area of desertification restoration in Xiwuzhumuqin Banner increased, and there were significant differences in its spatial distribution and change trend. Table 5 shows that vegetation increased in 42.17% of areas, decreased in 34.11%, and remained essentially unchanged in 23.72%.