Bamboo ecosystem services in 25 years: a systematic literature review of trends, insights, and knowledge gaps

While bamboo offers various benefits to people, existing reviews on the current state of knowledge and research trends regarding its ecosystem services remain limited. This study aims to systematically review the literature on bamboo ecosystem services, focusing on temporal and geographic patterns, thematic trends, and methodological approaches, as well as the exploration of synergies and trade-offs. It adheres to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines and includes an analysis of 56 relevant studies indexed in Scopus. This review shows a recent growing academic interest in bamboo ecosystem services. Research is primarily concentrated in regions where bamboo is commonly found, shaped by regional research capacity, and characterized by both locally led efforts and externally conducted studies. Keyword and co-occurrence analyses identify three main research clusters focused on the quantitative assessment, qualitative investigation and economic valuation of ecosystem services. Methodologically, studies tend to rely on plot sampling for data collection, apply indices for analysis, and present findings through mapping and statistical techniques. Among ecosystem service categories, regulation and maintenance services receive the most attention. However, interactions among services remain underexplored, with research on synergies and trade-offs still limited. These findings provide valuable insights for bamboo forest management and indicate future research directions that merit deeper exploration.