Trends and hotspots in biochar research for soil quality improvement in tropical and semi-arid regions based on bibliometric analysis

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🔬研究者:Identify key research gaps and collaboration opportunities in biochar for soil carbon sequestration.

🏢実務担当者:Biochar can be a tool for soil carbon credits and remediation; this paper maps the field and highlights remaining uncertainties.

🏛政策担当者:The findings support biochar as a nature-based solution for climate mitigation, but note the need for long-term field data and standardization.

Intensive agriculture, deforestation and climate change have caused soil degradation, making environmental degradation a silent yet critical threat in tropical and semi-arid regions. In this context, biochar produced by the pyrolysis of biomass under oxygen-limited conditions has gained significant prominence in soil science over the past decade. This study aimed to analyze global research trends, scientific collaboration networks, and key thematic focuses related to the use of biochar for soil quality improvement in tropical and semi-arid regions, covering the period from 2009 to 2024, including scientific articles and reviews based on a Web of Science search using the terms “biochar for soil quality improvement in tropical and semi-arid regions,” resulting in 666 articles. After applying eligibility criteria and screening procedures, 505 records were retained for bibliometric analysis. The data were analyzed using the Bibliometrix (RStudio) and VOSviewer software, applying techniques such as co-authorship analysis, co-citation, and keyword co-occurrence. Furthermore, the results show a continuous growth in publications, particularly after 2014, with China leading the way (183 articles and 7257 citations) in a global collaboration network, followed by the United States and Pakistan. Although these countries are not entirely characterized by tropical or semi-arid climates, the retrieved studies specifically focused on dryland, tropical, and semi-arid agroecosystems, according to the environmental descriptors adopted in the bibliometric search strategy. The collaboration networks show strong internationalization, with China acting as the main scientific hub. The thematic analysis revealed three main research areas: carbon sequestration, agricultural productivity, and soil remediation, as well as emerging trends related to bioremediation and mitigation of abiotic stresses. Keyword co-occurrence and thematic evolution analyses revealed increasing scientific attention toward biochar applications associated with water retention, nutrient cycling, and soil sustainability in vulnerable agroecosystems. It is concluded that biochar has high potential as a sustainable technology; however, its advancement depends on interdisciplinary approaches to consolidate biochar as a technology in sustainable agriculture and on strengthening international collaborations in the development of applied studies under real field conditions, especially in vulnerable environments. Highlights Scientific output on biochar has shown continuous and significant growth from 2009 to 2024, with China leading globally in terms of the number of articles (183 publications) and citations. Studies focus on three central themes: carbon sequestration, agricultural productivity (yield), and soil remediation (including heavy metals). Keyword co-occurrence and thematic analyses revealed growing scientific interest in biochar applications related to water retention, nutrient cycling, and soil sustainability. Large-scale adoption faces the challenge of an urgent lack of long-term data on the material’s persistence and the need for methodological standardization.

• openalex https://doi.org/10.1007/s44378-026-00275-0first seen 2026-07-30 05:11:11