TY - JOUR
T1 - A systematic overview, trends and global perspectives on blue carbon
T2 - A bibliometric study (2003–2021)
AU - Zhong, Chongming
AU - Li, Tangcheng
AU - Bi, Ran
AU - Sanganyado, Edmond
AU - Huang, Jiahong
AU - Jiang, Shuangcheng
AU - Zhang, Zezhi
AU - Du, Hong
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China grants (NSFC 41976125, 42206116), the Team Project of Department of Education of Guangdong Province (2018KCXTD012), the Special Fund for Marine Economic Development of Fujian Province (FJHJF-L-2022-13) and Start-Up funding of Shantou University (NTF21049). We would like to express our sincere appreciation to editor-in-chief, Professor João Carlos Marques, and two reviewers for their careful guidance.
PY - 2023/4/1
Y1 - 2023/4/1
N2 - Blue carbon sequestration is a nature-based solution to environmental problems caused by climate change and has a significant positive impact on the planet and human well-being. This paper bibliometrically and systematically analyzed 2,613 studies found in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) from 2003 to 2021 to explore the hotspots and trends of blue carbon research using the Bibliometrix package in R studio and VOSviewer software. The results based on network co-occurrence analysis indicated that mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes were the major blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs), and mangrove carbon sinks were the most popular central research area. Furthermore, phytoplankton and microalgae have essential roles in the marine carbon cycle and bioenergy utilization, as revealed by the high proportion of published literature, while the carbon transport mechanisms of seagrass and macroalgae was understudied. Thematic evolution analysis revealed that remote sensing was the most commonly used technology as an emerging research field for ecological monitoring and ecological investigation in blue carbon research in recent years. In addition, increasing carbon sinks by artificial approaches, fishery carbon sinks, and carbon sequestration by macroalgae have been potential hotspots for blue carbon research development. The findings from this study shed light on the trends of blue carbon in the past eighteen years, current research points in the field, and areas that need more research investment going forward.
AB - Blue carbon sequestration is a nature-based solution to environmental problems caused by climate change and has a significant positive impact on the planet and human well-being. This paper bibliometrically and systematically analyzed 2,613 studies found in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) from 2003 to 2021 to explore the hotspots and trends of blue carbon research using the Bibliometrix package in R studio and VOSviewer software. The results based on network co-occurrence analysis indicated that mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes were the major blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs), and mangrove carbon sinks were the most popular central research area. Furthermore, phytoplankton and microalgae have essential roles in the marine carbon cycle and bioenergy utilization, as revealed by the high proportion of published literature, while the carbon transport mechanisms of seagrass and macroalgae was understudied. Thematic evolution analysis revealed that remote sensing was the most commonly used technology as an emerging research field for ecological monitoring and ecological investigation in blue carbon research in recent years. In addition, increasing carbon sinks by artificial approaches, fishery carbon sinks, and carbon sequestration by macroalgae have been potential hotspots for blue carbon research development. The findings from this study shed light on the trends of blue carbon in the past eighteen years, current research points in the field, and areas that need more research investment going forward.
KW - Bibliometric analysis
KW - Blue carbon
KW - Carbon sinks
KW - Climate change
KW - Ecosystem service
KW - Ocean carbon cycles
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85149363692&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.110063
DO - 10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.110063
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85149363692
SN - 1470-160X
VL - 148
JO - Ecological Indicators
JF - Ecological Indicators
M1 - 110063
ER -
