Quantification of Urban Heat Island-Induced Contribution to Advance in Spring Phenology: A Case Study in Hangzhou, China

Plant phenology is one of the key regulators ecosystem processes, which are sensitive to environmental change. The acceleration urbanization in recent years has produced substantial impacts on vegetation over urban areas, such as local warming induced by heat island effect. However, quantitative contributions difference land surface temperature (LST) between and rural (?LST) other factors spring (i.e., start growing season, SOS) (?SOS) were rarely reported. Therefore, objective this study explore SOS distinguish corresponding contributions. Using Hangzhou, a typical subtropical metropolis, area, index-based data (MCD12Q2 MYD13Q1 EVI) (MYD11A2 LST) from 2006–2018 adopted analyze urban–rural gradient characteristics through buffers. Furthermore, we exploratively quantified ?LST ?SOS based contribution separation model. We found that there was negative coupling LST 90% vegetated areas Hangzhou. At sample-point scale, weakly, but significantly, negatively correlated with at daytime (R2 = 0.2 p < 0.01 rural; R2 0.14 0.05 urban) rather than nighttime. Besides, dominated contributed more 70% total ?SOS. hope could help deepen understanding responses intensive human activities.