Mapping the scientific research on non-point source pollution: a bibliometric analysis

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 24; no. 5; pp. 4352 - 4366
• Main Authors: Yang, Beibei, Huang, Kai, Sun, Dezhi, Zhang, Yue
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.02.2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural research; Agricultural Research Service; Agriculture; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; bibliometric analysis; Bibliometrics; China; Citation analysis; Earth and Environmental Science; ecology; Ecotoxicology; engineering; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental monitoring; Environmental Pollutants - analysis; Environmental science; Federal agencies; Language; nitrogen; Nonpoint source pollution; Phosphorus; Point source pollution; Pollution; Pollution research; Pollution studies; Publication output; Research Design; Review Article; Science; United Kingdom; United States; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water pollution; Water Pollution Control; Water resources; British Isles; USA; China, People's Rep., Beijing; United States; United Kingdom; China; Research trend; Non-point source pollution; Research progress; Bibliometric analysis; SCI-Expanded
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-016-8130-y
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499

A bibliometric analysis was conducted to examine the progress and future research trends of non-point source (NPS) pollution during the years 1991–2015 based on the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-Expanded) of Web of Science (WoS). The publications referencing NPS pollution were analyzed including the following aspects: document type, publication language, publication output and characteristics, subject category, source journal, distribution of country and institution, author keywords, etc. The results indicate that the study of NPS pollution demonstrated a sharply increasing trend since 1991. Article and English were the most commonly used document type and language. Environmental sciences and ecology, water resources, and engineering were the top three subject categories. Water science and technology ranked first in distribution of journal, followed by Science of the total environment and Environmental Monitoring and Assessment . The USA took a leading position in both quantity and quality, playing an important role in the research field of NPS pollution, followed by the UK and China. The most productive institution was the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Acad Sci), followed by Beijing Normal University and US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA ARS). The analysis of author keywords indicates that the major hotspots of NPS pollution from 1991 to 2015 contained “water,” “model,” “agriculture,” “nitrogen,” “phosphorus,” etc. The results provide a comprehensive understanding of NPS pollution research and help readers to establish the future research directions.