Global research trends in ecosystem health assessment for nature-based solutions using scientometric analysis

Abstract

Human survival depends on ecosystems, which are an essential component of the earth’s environment. Researchers and professionals are increasingly interested in ecosystem health issues and their nature-based solutions, but disparities persist. A total of 1273 research articles were used after screening and cleaning procedures, ranging from 1st January, 2015, to 31st December, 2024, from the Dimension Core Collection database, and VOSviewer was utilized for scientometric analysis of the development of ecosystem health research and their nature-based solutions after SDGs’ 17 goals were adopted by the UNO to pinpoint the research development. The reviewed findings showed that ecosystem health assessment research is multidisciplinary. The two most influential journals were “The Science of the Total Environment” and “Sustainability”. The main research forces were Chinese, United States, Australian, and United Kingdom researchers and institutions. The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences was the most productive university, followed by Wageningen University & Research and the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research. The ecosystem health assessment review is showing three development trends: (1) Gradually increased phase (2015–2019); (2) Phase of development (2020–2022); and (3) Phase of fast development (2023–2024). The present study offers useful insights for assessing the effectiveness of ecosystem health studies and assists in identifying relevant research works on ecological health research and, ultimately, determines future study directions.