Do settlements isolation and land use changes affect poverty? Evidence from a mountainous province of China

The impact of settlements isolation and land-use changes on poverty is often overlooked. This study explored the spatial pattern and impact of settlements isolation and land use changes on poverty in Guizhou, a mountainous province of China, based on a Pearson correlation analysis and geographically weighted regression (GWR). The results showed that the incidence of high poverty levels in the counties of Guizhou tended to move from the southwest to the southeast over the period of 2005-2015. Both settlements isolation and land use changes had an impact on poverty, and this effect displayed spatial heterogeneity. With other factors unchanged, a 1 m increase in settlements isolation was associated with a statistically significant 0.58% increase in poverty incidence. Changes in the area of crop land, water, and forest land had a significant impact on poverty. The authors suggest that in the process of resettlement, the distance between settlements should be kept less than 5000 m if possible. The government needs to further improve and implement preferential land use policies, with appropriate increases in the area of built-up land.