Development Trends in Soil Erosion Fields Based on the Quantitative Evaluation of Innovation Subjects and Innovation Content from 1991 to 2020

Abstract

This paper mainly quantitatively analyzes papers in the field of soil erosion from an objective evaluation perspective. The purpose is to provide researchers in the field of soil and water conservation with a comprehensive understanding of the field. The bibliometric method was used to evaluate the technological innovation and evolution characteristics of soil erosion research. In terms of research scale, China and the United States have an absolute lead in this field. China started late, but the growth rate is faster. The evolution process of soil erosion research is classified into three stages (1991–2000, 2001–2010, and 2011–2020). In terms of innovation subjects (countries and institutions) in soil erosion fields, dominant countries exhibit more concentrated results, with an increase from 57% to 80% with respect to the ratio of the number of output papers in these countries to the total number of output papers in the research field of soil erosion. In contrast, research institutions are increasingly divergent, with a decrease from 36% to 26% with respect to the ratio of the number of output papers in the dominant institutions to the total number of output papers in the research field. The comparison results of the comprehensive innovation strength of major countries indicate that soil erosion research has experienced processes such as domination by the United States, and other countries have caught up via concerted efforts, with China and the USA finally leading comprehensively. The overall leading ability of China and the United States in soil erosion research continues to converge and improve. Belgium and other European countries have small research scale characteristics but greater influence capacities. The study of erosion mechanisms and erosion modelling has always been the main research direction in this field, while the quantitative study of soil erosion on large scales and its effects on element cycling comprises the current main research stream and development trend. The results of the present study could provide scientific support for a better understanding of the evolution of innovation characteristics in the field of soil erosion.