An overview of soil erosion research in China through a lens of international journals

从国际期刊视角看中国土壤侵蚀研究概况

[Background]Soil erosion,the process by which soil is eroded,transported,and deposited by external forces like wind and water,is a widespread global phenomenon with significant environmental and economic impacts.Over the past two decades,China's soil erosion research has made significant strides,reaching a world-class level in both quality and quantity.However,there has been a lack of comprehensive studies summarizing the overall situation and development trends in this field.This study aims to fill that gap by providing an overview of the current status and trends in China's soil erosion research.[Methods]This study employed bibliometric methods to analyze 6588 journal articles on soil erosion in China,collected from the Scopus database.The analysis focused on several key aspects,including the number of publications,subject areas,leading research institutes,funding organizations,key research themes,and patterns of international collaboration.Additionally,network maps were generated using VOSviewer to visualize the intellectual structure and connections within the research field,offering insights into how different research topics and institutes are interconnected.[Results]The findings reveal a significant increase in the number of publications since the 1980s,rising from just 4 articles in 1981 to 699 articles in 2023.While soil erosion research is multidisciplinary in nature,the most popular subject areas were“Environmental Science”“Agriculture and Biological Sciences”and“Earth and Planetary Sciences”.The Chinese Academy of Sciences is the most productive institute,with several universities and government research institutes also making substantial contributions.The primary funding source was government organizations,with the National Natural Science Foundation of China being the largest funder.Journals focusing on water and soil,ecology,and environmental sciences were the primary platforms for publishing soil erosion research in China.Catena,Science of the Total Environment,Transactions of CSAM,and Acta Ecologica Sinica were the most productive journals.Six international collaboration networks were identified in this field.The largest network was from European Union,followed by the network with Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,Singapore,and the United Kingdom,and the rest were cooperation relationships between the two countries(regions).The major research themes identified were“soil erosion and land degradation”“erosion dynamics and drivers”“soil erosion process and mechanism”and“erosion monitoring technology”.Earlier research was heavily focused on topics such as“GIS”“remote sensing”“Cs-137”“landscape pattern”“vegetation restoration”“simulated rainfall”“loess plateau”and“black soil.”In contrast,recent studies have shifted towards“climate change”“ecosystem services”“soil erodibility”“gully erosion”and“RUSLE”.[Conclusions]This study offers a comprehensive overview of China's soil erosion research,serving as a valuable resource for researchers and policy-makers interested in understanding the knowledge structure and development trends in this field.Additionally,the study highlights emerging research topics and potential areas for future exploration,thereby guiding the direction of subsequent studies in soil erosion.

土壤侵蚀是指土壤受到风、水等外力侵蚀、搬运和沉积的过程,是一种广泛存在的全球现象,具有重大的环境和经济影响。踏入21世纪,中国的水土流失研究取得了长足的进步,无论是质量或数量都达到世界级水平。然而,目前却缺乏对该领域的总体情况和发展趋势作出总结的研究。本研究旨在通过概述中国土壤侵蚀研究的现状和趋势来填补这一空白。本研究采用文献计量方法对Scopus资料库中所收集的6,588篇中国土壤侵蚀期刊论文进行分析。分析重点包括:出版物数量、学科领域、领先研究机构、资助机构、重点研究主题和国际合作模式。此外,还使用VOSviewer生成网络地图,以可视化研究领域内的知识结构和联系,提供有关不同研究主题和机构如何相互关联的见解。自20世纪80年代以来,论文数量大幅增加,从1981年的4篇增加到2023年的699篇。虽然土壤侵蚀研究具有多学科性质,但最受欢迎的学科领域是“环境科学”“农业与生物科学”和“地球与行星科学”。中国科学院成为生产力最高的机构,几所大学和政府研究机构也做出重大贡献。主要资金来源是政府机构,其中国家自然科学基金委员会是最大的资助者。水土、生态、环境科学类期刊是我国土壤侵蚀研究发表的主要平台。产量最多的期刊有《Catena》《Science of the Total Environment》《农业机械学报》和《生态学报》。该领域确定了6个国际合作网络。最大的网络来自欧盟,其次是与中国香港(地区)、新加坡和英国的网络,其余都是两国(地区)之间的合作关系。主要研究主题是“土壤侵蚀与土地退化”“侵蚀动力学与驱动因素”“土壤侵蚀过程与机制”和“侵蚀监测技术”。早期的研究主要集中在“GIS”“遥感”“C s-137”“景观格局”“植被恢复”“模拟降雨”“黄土高原”和“黑土”等主题。最近的研究转向“气候变迁”“生态系统服务”“土壤可蚀性”“沟渠侵蚀”和“RUSLE”。本研究全面概述中国土壤侵蚀研究,为有兴趣了解该领域知识结构和发展趋势的研究人员和政策制定者提供宝贵的资源。此外,本研究也突显了新兴的研究主题和未来探索的潜在领域,从而指导后续土壤侵蚀研究的方向。