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Based on Landsat MSS/TM/OLI (1975-2018), MODIS NDVI (2000-2015), and DMSP/OLS (1992-2013) multitemporal remote sensing data, as well as annual average precipitation and temperature data from meteorological stations (1980-2018) and SRTM DEM data, this study extracted information on climate change, human activity, and eco-environmental factors in the Zijin Mountain (ZJM) area of Shanxi Province, and then analyzed the spatiotemporal changes in ecological structure, landscape structure, and climate response. The results revealed that in the ZJM area some sustainable development indicators associated with human activity, ecology, climate, and landscape geography have changed. Specifically, over the 44-year period from 1975 to 2018, the urban and rural construction land area increased by 4.29 times; in the 22-year period from 1992 to 2013, the regional light index has increased by 26.9 times; in the past 32 years, that is, from 1987 to 2018, the average vegetation index of the entire basin increased by about 54.7%, the vegetation cover exhibited a gradual positive trend, and the land use types in the ZJM area were mainly converted from bare land to grassland or forest. Compared with 1987, the area of bare land decreased 32.5% by 2018, whereas the forest and grassland areas increased by 85.7% and 40.7%, respectively. In addition, over the 44-year period from 1975 to 2018, the road density increased by 8.57 times. The area affected by human activities, comprised roads, urban and rural construction land, and their buffer areas, accounted for 64.87% of the total study area. As a result, the fragmentation index of landscape patches has increased by 6.81 times since 1987. We conclude that in the ZJM area, the ecosystem type has transformed from an indigenous mountainous grassland to mountainous arid agriculture, and from an isolated habitat to a fragmented habitat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]