The researchers used satellite images to study changes in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia from 1986 to 2014. They found that the grasslands in the region have been degrading over the years due to modernization. The study used a method called Support Vector Machine to create maps showing the changes in land cover over time. The results show a clear trend of degradation in the grasslands, with a strong negative correlation between grassland and barren areas. This suggests that the degradation is linked to the region's modernization over the past 28 years.