Spatial–temporal effect of sea–land gradient on landscape pattern and ecological risk in the coastal zone: A case study of Dalian City

Coastal zones have intense human activity and are ecologically fragile. Assessing ecological risks in coastal zones is crucial to promoting ecological safety and sustainable development for coastal cities. However, the relationship between ecological risk assessment and distance from the coastline is indeterminate in current research. To solve this problem, this study constructs the sea–land gradient and reconstructs the landscape pattern index and landscape ecological risk index (ERI) considering the sea–land gradient paradigm. This study aims to analyze the spatial–temporal variation characteristics and effects of the sea–land gradient on landscape pattern and ecological risk in Dalian City from 2000 to 2015. The results show the following: (1) between 2000 and 2015, a significant effect of coastline on the coastal landscape pattern in Dalian is reducing landscape fragmentation. The extent of this influence gradually diminished along the sea–land gradient. The landscape aggregation of urban building sites near the sea was relatively high and gradually increased over the years; (2) in Dalian, the landscape ERI has decreased near the sea and increased near the inland year by year; (3) the dominant pattern of landscape ecological risk was characterized by a transition from high to low levels within the [0, 2.5] km zone, while a transition from low to high levels predominated within the [2.5, Max] km zone; and (4) the northern region in Dalian primarily goes from high to low risk in the buffer zone near the landside, whereas the southern area has this changing pattern in the buffer zone near the seaside.