Bibliometric analysis of the status and trend of biological soil crusts research from 1912 to 2023

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) play an important role in soil development and ecological function, and it is more important for quantitatively analyzing the processes and trends of BSCs to identify the advantages and disadvantages of BSCs research for the development and application of BSCs theory. Bibliometric analysis of 2,186 BSCs literatures from Web of Science showed an exponential growth trend, as China and the United States as the top 2 in terms of publication volume. High quality publications are mainly from European and American countries, such as the United States, Germany and Spain. The top 3 publishers are Journal of Arid Environments, Soil Biology & Biochemistry and Plant and Soil, and disciplines include ecology, environmental science, and soil science, etc.. Research institutions mainly affiliate to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, United States Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, and Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. Authors mainly come from United States, Israel, Spain and China. Funds are mainly from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Spanish Government, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and National Science Foundation of the United States. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts, cyanobacteria, lichens, moss crusts, bryophytes), drylands, climate change, photosynthesis and desert are high-frequency keywords. Future research will focus on the driving mechanisms of BSCs on global biogeochemical cycles, maintaining global biodiversity on important ecological processes, global C, N, and P cycles. The impact on biological invasion, sandstorms, and water balance, multifunctional and reciprocal mechanisms for maintaining the stability of desert and sandy ecosystems, and impact on the formulation of management policies for arid ecosystems, corresponding to global climate change, and the estimation of regional, local, and microscale distribution of BSCs based on machine deep learning modeling gradually focus on. The ecosystem service functions of BSCs, the soil and water conservation and soil stability mediated by BSCs in arid and semi-arid regions, and the excavation of stress resistant genes for BSCs will be emphasized.