With stronger requirements for interdisciplinary integration in The Geography Curriculum Standard, cultivating systems thinking has become a key goal of interdisciplinary geography teaching. Yet in practice, geographic elements and cross-disciplinary elements are often combined in a fragmented way, limiting the development of systems thinking. Using the management of the karst rocky desertifi cation–prone area in Huanjiang, Guangxi as a case, this study builds a“music theory–geography–governance”three-dimensional framework through folk songs, and follows a three-step process—linking, integrating, and extending—to explore how systems thinking can be fostered through geography–music integration. The study aims to reduce fragmentation, support the joint growth of key competences and higher-order thinking, and off er a practical model that helps interdisciplinary geography teaching shift from knowledge delivery to thinking-centered learning.