Research Trend of Aging Biochar for Agro-environmental Applications: a Bibliometric Data Analysis and Visualization of the Last Decade (2011-2023)

The copious amounts of data generated through publications play a pivotal role in advancing Science, Technology, and Policy. Additionally, they provide valuable and detailed information on research topics, emerging thematic trends, and critical issues that demand increased focus and attention. Over the last few decades, biochar has produced an extensive body of high-quality papers and played a crucial part in achieving the long-term Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 agenda of the United Nations about Climate Change, Sustainable Agriculture, Environmental Sustainability, Zero Hunger, Human Wellbeing, and Circular Bioeconomy. However, most of the research is on biochar that has been modified or functionalized using various chemical reagents or catalysts and reported widely in peer-reviewed, high-quality journals. No prior work analyzed the bibliometric data on aging biochar with (a)biotic processes. This study presents an innovative data-driven bibliometric analysis technique and paradigm for extracting the essence of the available peer-reviewed literature data to offer new perspectives on the research opportunities and potential of aged biochar for agro-environmental applications. The bibliometric data analysis indicates that aging biochar research for agro-environmental applications received attention, advanced, and resulted in 165 high-quality publications in reputed journals between 2011 and 2023. However, it is evident that there is still a considerable need for further attention in this area. The identification of the research trends/frontiers shows that biochar production effectively employs various biomass resources, aging with different (a)biotic factors, characterization, effects on global climate change, long-term carbon sequestration in soil, soil nutrient dynamics, restoration of multi-polluted soils and sediments, and plant growth all require continuous attention both now and in the future.

Automated summary

The copious amounts of data generated through publications have played a crucial role in advancing Science, Technology, and Policy, providing valuable information on research topics and emerging trends. Biochar has greatly contributed to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, with extensive research on modified or functionalized biochar. However, there is a lack of bibliometric analysis on aging biochar for agro-environmental applications, which this study aims to address.