Assessment of Environmental Suitability for the Spatial Distribution of Minority Villages in Mountainous Areas—Taking Fujian Province as an Example

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The geographical environment and economic conditions that influence the spatial distribution of minority villages vary significantly, particularly in mountainous regions where they face different levels of disaster risks. Environmental suitability assessment can help us gain a deeper understanding of the differences and degrees of differences among different villages and provide a basis for resource allocation and planning. This study focuses on 499 national level and 68 provincial level minority villages in Fujian province and evaluates the environmental suitability of their spatial distribution using analysis tools such as ArcMap and GeoDetector. The research findings indicated: (1) The ratio between the influence strengths of natural geographical, socioeconomic, and disaster constraint indicators on the environmental suitability of minority villages in mountainous areas is 5:10:7, with the highest influence being the regional gross domestic product (RGDP) in the socioeconomic indicator (0.509) and the lowest influence being flood sensitivity (0.011). (2) Areas with high suitability values are in the southeast coastal and central regions. From east to west, the suitability values gradually decrease. The suitable areas cover 87.2% of the total region, including 91.9% of the minority villages. (3) The geographical correlation coefficient between the spatial distribution of minority villages and environmental suitability is 86.87, indicating a high degree of spatial interaction and fit between the two. This validates the rationality of the multi-factor evaluation model for assessing the environmental suitability of ethnic village spatial distribution in mountainous areas. (4) There is an inverse “U” relationship between environmental suitability and the distribution of national and provincial level minority villages. With the increase in the suitability index, the number of national level minority villages tends to increase, while the number of provincial level minority villages tends to decrease. The research findings have significant implications for promoting the sustainable development of minority villages in Fujian province and provide reference for the regional development and protection of minority villages in other mountainous areas.