Spatial Patterns of Vegetation Phenology Along the Urban–Rural Gradients in Different Local Climate Zones

Studies regarding vegetation phenology variations along the urban-rural gradients (URGs) that rely on the binary classification of "urban-rural" cannot reveal fine-scale spatial heterogeneity. In this study, we selected the urban area of Dalian as an example and combined the urban spatial structure with vegetation phenology through local climate zones (LCZs), then investigated the spatial patterns and differences along the URGs to reveal the spatial heterogeneity of fine-scale vegetation phenology. The building LCZ types were radially concentrated, whereas that of natural LCZ types were relatively scattered. The start of growing season (SOS) and the end of growing season (EOS) were concentrated between 100–180 days and 260–330 days, respectively, with significant spatial heterogeneity. The percentage of building LCZ types exhibited a progressively diminishing tendency along the URGs, whereas the percentage of natural LCZ types exhibited a contrasting pattern. The SOS was typically delayed by 0.49 days, and the EOS was advanced by 0.41 days for every 1 km increase in distance. The SOS of building LCZ types was significantly earlier than that of natural LCZ types, while their EOS was not significantly different. This study relates the urban spatial structure with the vegetation phenology through LCZs, attempting to reveal the influence of urban spatial structure on vegetation phenology, which is of great significance for guiding the production of intelligent agriculture, enhancing land resource use efficiency, and monitoring dynamic urban ecological environment.