Soil Organic Carbon Research and Hotspot Analysis Based on Web of Science: A Bibliometric Analysis in CiteSpace

Manman Fan, Wenyan Yang, Jingtao Wu (), Huan Zhang, Zhengwei Ye and Muhammad Shaukat
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Manman Fan: School of Geography and Planning, Huaiyin Normal University, Huaian 223300, China
Wenyan Yang: School of Geography and Planning, Huaiyin Normal University, Huaian 223300, China
Jingtao Wu: School of Geography and Planning, Huaiyin Normal University, Huaian 223300, China
Huan Zhang: College of Marine Science and Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
Zhengwei Ye: School of Geography and Planning, Huaiyin Normal University, Huaian 223300, China
Muhammad Shaukat: Department of Agricultural Sciences, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-19

Abstract: Soil carbon sequestration is an important process of the terrestrial carbon cycle, and even slight changes in soil carbon will trigger drastic variations in the global carbon pool. In this study, we used the CiteSpace software to analyze the development of research on soil organic carbon (SOC) and its current status from various perspectives, with the goal of revealing research hotspots and trends of SOC. A total of 3909 studies published between 2014 and 2023 were included in the analysis. Results show that China and the USA lead with a significant number of publications on SOC, which underscores their considerable interest in the subject. France and the USA exhibit a very high international influence in this field, with their intermediary centrality reaching up to 0.3 and 0.21, respectively. Among institutions, the Chinese Academy of Sciences is the largest contributor in terms of the number of publications, with a high centrality of 0.09, indicating this institution has built close collaboration and significant influence in this field. Kuzyakov Yakov achieved the highest publication record, with Lal Rattan sharing the second position. The hotspots in SOC can be summarized into the following aspects: conservation tillage, carbon sequestration, microbial biomass, and driving forces. The research focus has gradually shifted from macroscopic trends to explanations based on micro-level biological dynamics. Driving forces such as soil type, land use, and environmental conditions have a significant impact on the quantity, turnover, and spatiotemporal distribution of SOC. We highlighted that more attention should be paid to the mechanism of SOC transformation and stabilization, which is essential for developing more precise models of carbon cycling in the soil and for formulating effective strategies to maintain sustainable agriculture and mitigate climate change.

Keywords: soil organic carbon; CiteSpace; research progress; hotspot; bibliometric analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
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