Eucommia ulmoides Oliver. (E. ulmoides) is a species of small tree native to China. It is a valuable medicinal herb that can be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, hypertension, and other diseases. In addition, E. ulmoides is a source of rubber. It has both medicinal and ecological value. As ecological problems become increasingly prominent, accurate information on the cultivated area of E. ulmoides is important for understanding the carbon sequestration capacity and ecological suitability zoning of E. ulmoides. In previous tree mapping studies, no studies on the spectral characteristics of E. ulmoides and its remote sensing mapping have been seen. We use Ruyang County, Henan Province, China, as the study area. Firstly, using the 2021 Gao Fen-6 (GF-6) Wide Field of View (WFV) time series images covering the different growth stages of E. ulmoides based on the participation of red-edge bands, several band combination schemes were constructed. The optimal time window to identify E. ulmoides was selected by calculating the separability of E. ulmoides from other land cover types for different schemes. Secondly, a random forest algorithm based on several band combination schemes was investigated to map the E. ulmoides planting areas in Ruyang County. Thirdly, the annual NPP values of E. ulmoides were estimated using an improved Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach (CASA) to a light energy utilization model, which, in turn, was used to assess the carbon sequestration capacity. Finally, the ecologically suitable distribution zone of E. ulmoides under near current and future (2041–2060) climatic conditions was predicted using the MaxEnt model. The results showed that the participation of the red-edge band of the GF-6 data in the classification could effectively improve the recognition accuracy of E. ulmoides, making its overall accuracy reach 96.62%; the high NPP value of E. ulmoides was mainly concentrated in the south of Ruyang County, with a total annual carbon sequestration of 540.104835 t CM⁻²·a⁻¹. The ecological suitability zone of E. ulmoides can be divided into four classes: unsuitable area, low suitable area, medium suitable area, and high suitable area. The method proposed in this paper applies to the real-time monitoring of E. ulmoides, highlighting its potential ecological value and providing theoretical reference and data support for the reasonable layout of E. ulmoides.

Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. is widely used in medicine for its roots and rhizomes, and it plays a significant role in enhancing the regional ecological environment. In this study, firstly, based on the spectral characteristics of G. uralensis distribution areas under the G. uralensis Vegetation Index (GUVI) feature set of major feature types and G. uralensis in different years from 2014 to 2022, the G. uralensis distribution areas were identified and extracted using the Random Forest. Moreover, we estimated the Net Primary Productivity (NPP) of G. uralensis in Dengkou County using an improved version of the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA) and investigated its spatio-temporal evolution characteristics. Additionally, with the assistance of GeoDetector, we systematically analyzed the relationship between the NPP of G. uralensis and 71 environmental factors from 2014 to 2022. The study findings indicated that the distribution area of G. uralensis fluctuated significantly over the years. Initially, its distribution was predominantly concentrated in the northeastern part of Dengkou County, but later it expanded to the southwestern region as well. Although the annual mean NPP of G. uralensis from 2014 to 2022 showed a fluctuating downward trend, it still accounted for a high proportion in the regions with high annual mean NPP within Dengkou County, which implies that G. uralensis has a strong carbon sequestration capacity. Furthermore, the GeoDetector analysis revealed that the impacts of various environmental factors on the spatial distribution of G. uralensis NPP in Dengkou County involve complex interaction relationships. This study offers valuable perspectives on the potential of G. uralensis as a key species for ecological restoration, desert management, sustainable utilization of medicinal plant resources, and carbon sequestration in (semi)arid regions. It also underscores the possibility of achieving a win-win situation for ecological conservation and economic development.