Spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of traditional villages in Henan Province based on geographical detectors

Spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of traditional villages in Henan Province based on geographical detectors | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of traditional villages in Henan Province based on geographical detectors Wenjing Gao, Wei Zhao, Yingkui Sun, Fuqiang Wan, Yang Yang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8375046/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Henan Province, located in the transitional zone between the second and third topographic steps of China, represents a typical mountain–plain transitional area and harbors a large number of traditional villages with distinct characteristics and rich cultural connotations. Taking 1,032 traditional villages in Henan as research objects, this study systematically examines their spatial differentiation patterns and driving mechanisms through integrated applications of ArcGIS spatial analysis, geostatistical methods, and the GeoDetector model. The results show that: (1) The spatial distribution of traditional villages in Henan is uneven and highly clustered, exhibiting a “three cores–one belt–multiple points” structure and a “more in the west, fewer in the east” distribution pattern; (2) At the natural geographic level, traditional villages predominantly occur in plains and low-relief mountainous areas with abundant water resources and suitable elevations, reflecting a site-selection preference for “proximity to mountains and water and residence in warmer areas”; (3) At the socio-cultural level, factors such as locational conditions, transportation accessibility, urbanization rate, and population distribution collectively shape the spatial pattern, leading traditional villages to be concentrated in areas with moderate road network density, an appropriate distance from central cities, medium levels of economic development, and relatively high population agglomeration—demonstrating a socio-environmental orientation of “economy as the foundation and cultural continuity as the core”; (4) Overall, the cultural environment exerts the strongest influence on the spatial distribution of traditional villages, followed by economic development, while the natural environment plays a comparatively weaker role. In addition, significant synergistic enhancement effects exist among the influencing factors. During the formation of traditional villages, natural conditions mainly governed the early site-selection process, whereas socio-economic and cultural factors have been crucial in shaping their persistence and development. This study provides data support and theoretical references for the scientific conservation and sustainable development of traditional villages, and offers valuable insights for advancing research on human–land relationships in China’s mountain–plain transitional zones. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences Social science/Environmental studies Scientific community and society/Geography Social science/Geography Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files HenanStatisticalYearbook20242501.xls Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 11 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 03 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 23 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 11 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 11 Mar, 2026 Editor invited by journal 17 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 06 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 06 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8375046","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":605358458,"identity":"ae3d9bd0-37db-488e-9657-91391ca11526","order_by":0,"name":"Wenjing Gao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Henan University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wenjing","middleName":"","lastName":"Gao","suffix":""},{"id":605358461,"identity":"74748c94-2731-443a-86b3-c487b54d2eaf","order_by":1,"name":"Wei Zhao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Henan 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Taking 1,032 traditional villages in Henan as research objects, this study systematically examines their spatial differentiation patterns and driving mechanisms through integrated applications of ArcGIS spatial analysis, geostatistical methods, and the GeoDetector model. The results show that: (1) The spatial distribution of traditional villages in Henan is uneven and highly clustered, exhibiting a “three cores–one belt–multiple points” structure and a “more in the west, fewer in the east” distribution pattern; (2) At the natural geographic level, traditional villages predominantly occur in plains and low-relief mountainous areas with abundant water resources and suitable elevations, reflecting a site-selection preference for “proximity to mountains and water and residence in warmer areas”; (3) At the socio-cultural level, factors such as locational conditions, transportation accessibility, urbanization rate, and population distribution collectively shape the spatial pattern, leading traditional villages to be concentrated in areas with moderate road network density, an appropriate distance from central cities, medium levels of economic development, and relatively high population agglomeration—demonstrating a socio-environmental orientation of “economy as the foundation and cultural continuity as the core”; (4) Overall, the cultural environment exerts the strongest influence on the spatial distribution of traditional villages, followed by economic development, while the natural environment plays a comparatively weaker role. In addition, significant synergistic enhancement effects exist among the influencing factors. During the formation of traditional villages, natural conditions mainly governed the early site-selection process, whereas socio-economic and cultural factors have been crucial in shaping their persistence and development. This study provides data support and theoretical references for the scientific conservation and sustainable development of traditional villages, and offers valuable insights for advancing research on human–land relationships in China’s mountain–plain transitional zones.","manuscriptTitle":"Spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of traditional villages in Henan Province based on geographical detectors","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-13 20:33:34","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8375046/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-04-11T14:41:05+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-04-03T17:54:05+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-03-23T06:10:51+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"16805305034404749658912572601613515054","date":"2026-03-16T11:14:56+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"18888154877569764998523624994187134281","date":"2026-03-13T01:58:58+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-03-11T14:25:58+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-03-11T14:21:48+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-01-17T13:25:25+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-01-06T08:58:44+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","date":"2026-01-06T08:45:47+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"8de45b55-4030-44f4-9f07-98f11402afba","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 13th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":64425635,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences"},{"id":64425636,"name":"Social science/Environmental studies"},{"id":64425637,"name":"Scientific community and society/Geography"},{"id":64425638,"name":"Social science/Geography"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-02T02:53:29+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-13 20:33:34","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8375046","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8375046","identity":"rs-8375046","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}