Global trends of and perspectives on intercropping research: A bibliometric review

Abstract

Background and Aims Intercropping is an agroecological strategy to optimize resource-use efficiency and crop yield. In recent decades, therefore, intercropping has gained strongly increasing attention as a more sustainable land management alternative to monoculture-oriented intensive agriculture. However, few studies have attempted to perform a comprehensive and systematic review of this subject from a bibliometric perspective.Methods This study carried out a quantitative bibliometric analysis to critically review research on intercropping globally from 1995 to 2021. A total of 7574 publications from the Web of Science Core Collection were analyzed to explore the characteristics of publications, research hotspots, and future frontiers.Results The results showed that the number of publications related to intercropping increased since 2007, with Chinese scholars and research institutes contributing the most. The journal with the most publications was Agroforestry Systems, and Plant and Soil ranked fifth. Research on intercropping has evolved, with the focus shifting from yield and plant interspecific interactions and then to sustainable agriculture. Moreover, keyword burst analysis showed that research frontiers were mainly concentrated on sustainable intensification, microbial community, and climate change adaptation.Conclusions This study provides a better understanding of the progress in research on intercropping that has occurred over the past 27 years, offering ideas and references for future research.