Scientific Dynamics and Applications of Vermicomposting: Bibliometric Analysis and Review of Technical Approaches

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze the dynamics and trends of research on vermicomposting in order to identify areas that have not been explored and to guide future investigations. A bibliometric review was carried out using publications from Scopus, analyzed on R and visualized with VOSviewer. The results show continued growth in publications between 1983 and 2024, with a peak of over 200 documents in 2021. Out of 2570 studies, 611 deal with waste recovery and 111 with the reduction of heavy metals, indicating the under-exploration of the latter subject. The species Eisenia fetida dominates the uses with 70 percent, followed by Eudrilus eugeniae with 20 percent. The most studied substrates are plant and food residues. The most widely used methods are drum and bed vermicomposting, accounting for 36 and 31 percent of the studies, respectively. Geographical analysis shows that India and China produce the most publications, while in Africa Egypt and South Africa are the most active. The evolution of keywords reveals a shift from research focused on soil biology to soil fertility, heavy metal reduction, sludge and biochar. Limits include low substrate diversity and few publications on heavy metals. This analysis provides a basis for guiding future research and developing new methods to improve the sustainability and management of organic waste.