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Bibliometric analysis of research on soil health from 1999 to 2018

  • Soils, Sec 3 • Remediation and Management of Contaminated or Degraded Lands • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

Soil health has been a major focus of research by international scholars because it is an important factor that supports human survival and development. However, few scholars have performed bibliometric analyses of research on soil health. This study investigated the current research status and development characteristics of soil health.

Materials and methods

We performed a bibliometric analysis of documents on soil health from 1999 to 2018 in the Web of Science Core Collection. The bibliometric analysis tools, CiteSpace and HistCite software, were applied.

Results and discussion

A total of 1629 documents on soil health in the Web of Science Core Collection were identified. From the research status of soil health, the number of publications will continue to increase. Most of the research institutions examining soil health are located in the USA, and there is little cooperation and communication among countries, neither do research institutions in this field. Each country has its own research labs while lab cooperation within individual countries is relatively close. Most documents on the research of soil health have been published in the journal Applied Soil Ecology. In addition, research directions are expanding from the basic study of soil production, soil health indicators, and soil pollution to the comprehensive study of soil ecosystem.

Conclusions

Bibliometric analysis tools, CiteSpace and HistCite software, provide a comprehensive approach for making predictions regarding trends in the field. This method was used in this study to identify the hotspots, frontiers, and future development of soil health to provide guidance for future research.

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Funding

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41371226) and the General Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (41771561).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Land Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing, 100083, China

    Yanan Liu, Kening Wu & Rui Zhao

  2. Key Laboratory of Land Consolidation, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing, 100035, China

    Kening Wu

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  1. Yanan Liu
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Correspondence to Yanan Liu or Kening Wu.

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Liu, Y., Wu, K. & Zhao, R. Bibliometric analysis of research on soil health from 1999 to 2018. J Soils Sediments 20, 1513–1525 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-019-02519-9

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