Introductory Chapter: Soil Moisture – Keyword Analysis – A Bibliometric Approach

Abstract

The bibliometric analysis conducted in this study gives us useful information about how soil moisture research is changing over time. Author keywords from year 2000 to 2023 are analyzed using RStudio. Occurrence of keywords such as "climate change," "drought," "evapotranspiration," and "remote sensing," each exceeding 1000 times and underscores their significance and prevalence within the field of soil moisture. Furthermore, clustering of similar and connected keywords gives 9 clusters that reveal significant themes and trends within the field. The timeline analysis provides a historical perspective on how soil moisture research has become more important over time, especially since the early 2000s. Also, the increase in keywords like "climate change" and "drought" since 2014 shows growing emphasis on environmental sustainability and resilience. Since 2019, a shift in publication trend is seen with China overtaking USA. The present work offers a comprehensive overview of research in soil moisture, identifying key themes and trends that help in a deeper understanding of soil moisture dynamics and its implications for agriculture, ecology, and environmental science.