Historical food security dynamics under natural hazards and adaptation strategies in the Hengduan Mountains, Southwest China

Abstract Natural hazards have exerted persistent pressure on food security in mountain societies. Using the Hengduan Mountains region as a case, this study integrates documentary heritage evidence for 1368–1911 CE, harmonized through an HGIS workflow. Food security status is reconstructed, while hazard severity and social adaptation strategies are analyzed using geographically and temporally weighted regression. Results show a long-term rise in food security interrupted by two major downturns, with increasing late-period volatility and widening inter-county disparities. Changes are spatially asynchronous, forming four trajectory zones. Floods follow a frequency-severity contrast, with frequency showing conditional positive associations in some periods, but severity displaying a more stable negative effect on food security. In contrast, droughts show a low-frequency, high-impact shock profile. Flood responses center on strategic regulation and agricultural management, while drought responses are more balanced. The study demonstrates the value of documentary heritage for reconstructing long-term human environment dynamics.