Spatial structure and influencing factors of agricultural civilization heritage in the Yellow River Basin

Taking agricultural heritage system, intangible cultural heritage, and settlement heritage (including traditional villages and historically significant towns) as the research objects, this study analyzes the spatial pattern characteristics of agricultural civilization heritage in the Yellow River Basin (YRB). Methods such as the nearest neighbor index, kernel density analysis, center of gravity model, and landscape spatial correlation index are employed to examine spatial distribution patterns. Additionally, R language is utilized for optimal classification of driving factors, and the Geodetector model is applied to quantify the differential effects of various influencing factors. This paper addresses the research gap in two aspects: the comprehensive analysis of agricultural civilization heritage clusters in the Yellow River Basin, and the exploration of spatial correlations and driving mechanisms among diverse agricultural civilization heritages. The findings reveal that: ① The overall distribution of agricultural civilization heritage in YRB exhibits a clustering pattern. The average nearest neighbor index R of APH is 0.35, indicating that agricultural heritage system follows a random distribution. The R of ASH and ALH are 0.45 and 0.47, indicating that intangible cultural heritage and settlement heritage are clustered in groups. These heritage sites are predominantly located in the middle and lower reaches of the YRB, as well as ethnic minority areas in the upper reaches, such as Qinghai and Gansu. ② The centroids of the of agricultural civilization heritage all fall within Yan' an, Shaanxi Province, indicating a high degree of spatial equilibrium. The landscape spatial correlation index R among agricultural civilization heritage all exceeds 0, indicating a clear positive correlation in the distribution. ③ The spatial distribution of agricultural civilization heritage is influenced by multiple socio-economic and natural environmental factors. Among socio-economic factors, road network density, urbanization rate and GDP are the primary determinants, while among natural factors, annual precipitation, water network density, and average annual temperature play dominant roles.