The relationship between vegetation growth and groundwater in arid areas is one of the most active research topics in
ecohydrology. Due to less precipitation, the vegetation growth has close relationship with groundwater in northwest arid inland
areas of China. Research on the ecological effect of groundwater from large scale has important significance in eco-environment
recovery and protection. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the vegetation growth and the depth to water table
in the Yinchuan Plain, located in the northwest arid region of China, by combining remote sensing with groundwater observation
data. The result show that the depth to water table suitable for the vegetation growth in this region is between 1 to 6 m, the best
vegetation growth occurs when the depth to groundwater is around 3.5 m. The relationship between the vegetation growth and the
total dissolved solid (TDS) in groundwater was also studied. The results show that the vegetation growth is also affected by the
TDS of the groundwater in this region. The vegetation is well developed when the TDS is 0.9 g/L.