Abstract: As one of the important anthropogenic disturbance, mining exploitation has great influence on regional ecological quality. In this study, remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) was computed based on the Landsat remote sensing images in 1999, 2003, 2010, 2015, and 2020, to evaluate the ecological environment quality in Gongchangling, Liaoyang, Liaoning. The results showed that the overall ecological quality was mainly excellent from 1999 to 2020, accounting for more than 80% of the total area. The average RSEI values in the five periods were 0.927, 0.931, 0.891, 0.883, and 0.894, respectively. The whole RSEI manifested as firstly slightly increasing, then decreasing, and finally increasing. The areas with obvious ecological degradation were mining districts and towns. The variation of ecological quality in Gongchangling was closely related to the mining exploitation activities.

Key words: remote sensing ecological index, Gongchangling iron mine, land use, ecological-evaluation.