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Soil Enzymatic Activity and Microbial Diversity in Environmental Remediation: Integrating Bibliometric Mapping with Mechanistic Synthesis
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This study reviewed nearly 3,700 published articles (1986 to 2025) on soil microbes and enzymes involved in breaking down pollutants. It found research is shifting toward advanced genetic and chemical analysis methods, with microplastics and PFAS chemicals identified as key emerging topics needing more study, alongside gaps in linking soil microbes to contaminant breakdown.
Soil enzymes and microbial communities regulate nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition, contaminant transformation, and soil health, yet the development of research linking these components to environmental remediation remains insufficiently characterized. In this study, we integrated bibliometric science mapping with a mechanistic synthesis to evaluate the evolution, emerging themes, and research directions of studies on soil enzymatic activity and microbial diversity in environmental contamination and remediation. A total of 3,709 articles published between 1986 and 2025 were retrieved from Scopus and analysed using Biblioshiny and VOSviewer through science mapping, thematic evolution, bibliographic coupling, keyword analysis, and logistic growth modelling. Enzyme activity, microbial community, and soil emerged as central interconnected themes, with research increasingly shifting from conventional enzyme-based soil assessment towards molecular, multi-omics, and application-oriented approaches. Microplastics, metabolomics, enzyme immobilisation, and advanced bioremediation technologies emerged as prominent research frontiers. The mechanistic synthesis indicates that microbial community composition, functional potential, enzyme systems, and environmental conditions interact to regulate nutrient cycling and contaminant transformation. Important gaps remain in linking microbial identity and functional potential with measured enzyme activity, integrating multi-omics information with ecosystem-level processes, and translating mechanistic insights into effective remediation strategies. Emerging contaminants, particularly per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and microplastics, represent important areas for further mechanistic investigation. By integrating quantitative science mapping with mechanistic evidence, this study provides a unified framework for identifying research gaps and priorities in soil health, environmental remediation, and sustainable ecosystem management. Bibliometric-guided mechanistic synthesis integrates science mapping of 3,709 studies with evidence-based analysis of soil enzyme-microbial mechanisms. Research focus has shifted from enzyme-based indicators toward functional and multi-omics approaches to soil biology. Microbial diversity, functional genes, and enzyme systems jointly shape contaminant transformation and soil ecosystem processes. PFAS emerge as an important research frontier within the expanding literature on emerging contaminants. Major knowledge gaps remain in linking microbial community composition, enzyme activity, and ecosystem functioning under emerging-contaminant stress.
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