Advances in Studies on Heavy Metals in Urban Soil: A Bibliometric Analysis

Recent advancements in urban economies and population growth have led to an escalation in urban soil heavy metal pollution, thereby posing significant threats to human life and health. This paper presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis, detailing the developmental trajectory, research hotspots, and emerging trends in the field of urban soil heavy metal pollution research. Utilizing the CiteSpace and VOSviewer software tools, we conducted an analysis of 1247 articles sourced from the Web of Science Core Collection Database (WoSCC) spanning the period from 2000 to 2022. Our analysis revealed a significant upward trend in the number of publications during the period 2000–2022, a trend expected to persist. Ahmad Kafeel, Khan Zafar Iqbal, and Huang Biao emerged as the leading authors in this domain. The journal, Science of the Total Environment, held the most influence, while China led in the number of publications, with the Chinese Academy of Sciences as the foremost contributor. The research predominantly focused on source apportionment of urban soil heavy metal pollution, pollution risk assessment, and the application of environmental magnetism. Future research priorities include assessing the human health risks from diverse sources of heavy metal pollution, a key aspect of ensuring urban safety and soil health. Our findings delineate the evolutionary trajectory of urban soil heavy metal pollution research over the past two decades and underscore the viability of employing a dynamic bibliometric approach to investigate this research discipline.