An Improved Bibliometric Analysis on Antibiotics in Soil Research

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Microbiology
• Chemistry

Background:

• Antibiotic compounds and residues can contaminate soil and drinking water sources through agricultural practices.
• Understanding the environmental fate of antibiotics is crucial for assessing ecological and human health risks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze publication trends related to antibiotics in soil from 1946-2016.
• To identify leading countries, subject categories, and keywords in soil antibiotic research.

Main Methods:

• Bibliometric analysis of publication data from the Web of Science database.
• Analysis focused on countries, subject categories, and keywords from 1946 to 2016.

Main Results:

• The United States and China were the dominant countries for publications on antibiotics in soil between 2004-2016.
• "Microbiology", "Environmental science and ecology", and "Chemistry" were the most frequent subject categories.
• Tetracycline was the most frequently studied antibiotic, with research focusing on antibiotic resistance bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and their fate and transport.

Conclusions:

• Future research should prioritize the study of ARB, ARGs, and antibiotics in soil environments.
• Increased attention to the environmental implications of antibiotic use in agriculture is warranted.