Vulnerability-based analysis of traditional village distribution in Northwest Yunnan as an ecologically fragile area

Traditional villages in Northwest Yunnan represent complex socio-ecological systems navigating the dual challenges of ecological fragility and rapid socio-economic transformation. This study examines how vulnerability patterns shape the spatial distribution of 248 traditional villages through an integrated assessment framework. We developed a Sensitivity-Resilience (S-R) model where sensitivity captures environmental constraints including topographic factors (elevation, slope, terrain roughness) and climatic variables (temperature, precipitation), while resilience encompasses ecological buffers (vegetation coverage, water network density) and socio-economic adaptive capacity (road network density, population density, GDP, nighttime lights)-combining 11 indicators from remote sensing data (DEM, MODIS climate products), national census records, and geographic databases (2000-2020). The geographic detector method, a spatial statistical technique that quantifies factor contributions without assuming linear relationships, revealed both individual and interactive effects on village distribution. Results show 81% of villages concentrate in low-to-moderate vulnerability zones, forming linear clusters along river valleys and lake peripheries. Natural factors impose primary spatial constraints (slope q = 0.72, elevation q = 0.69), while socio-economic factors exhibit stronger influence overall (GDP q = 0.89, road density q = 0.66). Critically, all factor interactions show enhanced effects, especially GDP interactions with road density and nightlight that reveal how economic development, accessibility, and urbanization jointly determine village vulnerability patterns. These findings directly inform differentiated conservation strategies for regional planners and heritage policymakers. High-vulnerability villages (17.7%) require adaptive infrastructure and hazard mitigation; moderate-vulnerability clusters (70.2%) can serve as development nodes with controlled tourism; low-vulnerability settlements (10.9%) need protection from urbanization pressure. The vulnerability framework provides transferable methods for understanding how traditional villages persist within, rather than despite, ecological constraints in fragile mountain regions globally.