Connectivity Optimization of Mountain Heritage Corridors Based on an Adaptive MCR Gravity Model: A Case Study of the Mount Song World Heritage Landscape in China

Mountainous cultural landscapes, characterized by fragmented heritage sites, present significant challenges for integrated conservation and regional planning. Taking the Mount Song Culture Circle in Dengfeng City, China—a World Heritage site embodying the core of Chinese ritual civilization—as a case study, this study proposes an adaptive minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) gravity model to optimize heritage corridor resilience against spatial fragmentation and development imbalances. Based on a spatial database of 294 cultural relic units, the adaptive model introduces a dynamic cultural value weight (CVIndex = 0.82) and a time decay function (λ = 0.05) to capture the interplay between cultural significance and ecological constraints—features absent in traditional static approaches. The model identifies three optimized heritage corridor networks—”Seeking Wisdom in the Mountains”, “Searching for Culture in the Landscape”, and “Exploring the City Along the River.” Compared with a traditional static MCR model (αindex = 0.42; core area node density = 0.74 nodes/km 2 ), the adaptive approach improves network connectivity by 37% (α-index = 0.58, p < 0.01) and increases core area heritage node density to 1.12/km 2 . Space syntax analysis further confirms that optimized network integration values strongly correlate with cultural dissemination efficiency (R 2 = 0.78, p < 0.01, n = 48). This research offers a methodological innovation for resilient conservation of complex cultural landscapes in World Heritage contexts.