Global research performances on water footprint: A review and bibliometric analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to outline global performance and to quantitatively evaluate the current research field hot spots, and the future trends about the water footprint. Bibliometric methods are used to analyze 861 records retrieved from the collection of Web of Science Core (WoS). The performance of publications, categories, countries, institutes, research hot spots, and trends is analyzed in this study by applying CiteSpace and VOSviewer tools. The results revealed that publications about water footprint have experienced two stages: a stable rising period and a rapid rising period. The research pertaining to water footprint is mainly in the fields of virtual water, water use efficiency, water scarcity, water pollution, etc. The People’s Republic of China, The United States of America, Iran, New Zealand, and Italy get higher rankings in paper output, and the Chinese Acad of Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Northwest A&F University, Beijing Forestry University, University of Twente and Hohai University achieve a high ranking on water footprint research. In addition, further studies in research frontiers have revealed that climate change, sustainable agriculture, and water conservation will become popular directions and trends in water footprint research.