Annual lit areas of human activities in the Qilian Mountains, the Tibetan Plateau (2012–2021)

This dataset contains annual lit areas associated with various human activities in the Qilian Mountains, the Tibetan Plateau, from 2012 to 2021. The shapefiles corresponding to lit areas within the Qilian National Nature Reserve (QNNR) and the Muli Coalfield are stored in the “QNNR” and “Muli” folders, respectively. Each shapefile includes attributes for the area and total intensity of the lit regions, represented by the “area” and “sum” fields. This dataset provides a spatially explicit representation of human activity patterns and can be used for research on ecological restoration, socioeconomic development, and sustainability transitions in mountainous regions.