Research Evolution on the Impact of Agronomic Practices on Soil Health from 1996 to 2021: A Bibliometric Analysis

In the last two decades, there has been a significant shift in focus towards soil health by international institutions, organizations, and scholars. Recognizing the vital role of soil in sustaining agriculture, ecosystems, and mitigating climate change, there has been a concerted effort to study and understand soil health more comprehensively. In this study, a bibliometric analysis was performed in order to determine the research trend of the articles published in the Scopus database in the last 26 years on soil health experimental studies and agronomic practices conducted in field conditions on agricultural soils. It has been observed that, after 2013, there has been a significant increase in research articles on soil health, with the USA and India research institutions ranking as the most productive on this topic. There is an asymmetry in international cooperation among research institutions, as well as for scholars. In addition, the research topic is gradually shifting from the effects of soil management strategies, especially nutrient management, on soil organic carbon and yield to the study of the impact of soil management on biochemistry and microbiological soil activities and greenhouse gas emissions. Future research should focus into more integrated approaches to achieve soil indicators enabling to evaluate the impact of sustainable management practices (e.g., cropping practices) on soil health.