article · Journal of King Saud University - Science
A systematic review and bibliometric assessment analysed 2,710 articles published between 1993 and 2022 to examine trends in land use and land cover change research. The volume of publications grew at an annual rate of 24.37 percent over this period. China and the United States led globally in publication volume, citation counts, and single-country studies. Within the top twenty most influential countries, African nations including Ethiopia, Ghana, and South Africa featured prominently. Most published research consists of single-country studies, revealing a geographic imbalance and a lack of multi-country collaborations, particularly affecting the Global South. Remote sensing paired with advanced computing techniques emerged as the most frequent research keyword, with noted utility in mitigating land degradation. The analysis highlights key thematic directions that can inform future research agendas, forest ecology planning, land management, and climate policy initiatives.
Rising pressure from agriculture and human settlement makes effective land management essential. Mapping three decades of scientific output identifies where knowledge is concentrated and where critical research gaps remain. By showing the prominence of African nations alongside persistent imbalances in international collaboration, the findings assist policymakers, institutions, and funders in directing resources toward under-represented regions and high-impact tools such as remote sensing.
The abstract does not indicate an application pathway for commercialisation. As a bibliometric and systematic literature review, the work analyses historical publication patterns rather than testing a product or technical process. It highlights remote sensing and advanced computing as established tools for land degradation planning, but provides no data on intellectual property, commercial readiness, or specific commercial users.
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The diverse landscape of global land use and land cover (LULC) change studies were evaluated to uncover the current advances in data and future research potential through bibliometrics and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach. A total of 2710 published articles with the search phrase “Land use and Land cover change” OR “Land-use and Land cover change” OR “Land use/Land cover change” OR “Land use and Land cover changes” were retrieved using Scopus, Web of Science (WOS), and ScienceDirect databases from 1993 to 2022. The findings indicated a 24.37% annual growth rate in LULC change studies, reflecting a rapid overall increase in published articles. China and the USA emerged as the most influential countries regarding article numbers, total citations, and single-country publications. Ethiopia, Ghana, and South Africa, among the top 20 global rankings of the most influential countries in LULC change studies, underscore the global importance of this research. However, the disparity in research output between multiple-country publications and the dominant trend of single-country publications highlights a geographical bias in LULC change studies, particularly in the Global South. This finding underscores the need for a more balanced research approach and can stimulate further investigation. The results also revealed that remote sensing, a rapidly growing field utilising advanced computing techniques, is the most prevalent keyword and has significant applications in reducing land degradation. These findings can significantly enhance research, climate policy programs, land management, and forest ecology planning, which are crucial in the face of the growing demand for agriculture and habitable land.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.jksus.2024.103262
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