Aerosol optical depth and ozone enhance their impacts on vegetation productivity via temperature in urban agglomerations of China

• How multiple factors influence vegetation productivity in urban and non-urban areas. • Used a spatial analysis model to capture spatial heterogeneity of vegetation productivity. • Path analysis revealed the pathways influencing vegetation productivity. • Aerosols and ozone affect vegetation productivity through temperature in urban agglomerations. Vegetation growth is closely linked to human well-being and is essential for maintaining ecological balance and enhancing biodiversity. Given the rapid urbanization, exploring how climate and environmental pollution influence vegetation gross primary production (GPP) in China is essential. Vegetation GPP, temperature, precipitation, aerosol optical depth (AOD), CO 2 emissions, and O 3 data from 2001 to 2023 were analysed. By applying Theil–Sen trend analysis, a Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR) model, and path analysis, the spatiotemporal evolution of vegetation GPP in Chinese urban and nonurban agglomerations and its response to environmental factors were explored. The findings revealed considerable vegetation GPP increases in 67.15% of the study area. The total vegetation GPP and its growth rate in urban agglomerations were notably greater than those in nonurban agglomerations. While most urban agglomerations will continue to grow, certain coastal regions will face greater degradation risks. AOD showed a negative correlation on vegetation GPP in some coastal urban agglomerations, while its negative correlation was weakened in the northeastern urban agglomerations. O 3 showed a positive correlation on vegetation GPP in the coastal urban agglomerations. With temperature as an indirect factor, AOD and O 3 promote vegetation GPP changes, with three to five times greater intensities in urban agglomerations than in nonurban agglomerations. Precipitation is the primary driver of vegetation GPP increase in nonurban agglomerations but yields negative effects in humid coastal urban agglomerations, highlighting the multifactor pollution stress–climate compensation–vegetation response coupling mechanism. This study aimed to provide insights into multiscale ecosystem interactions and differentiated management strategies under urbanization.