Soil erosion associated with roads—A global review and statistical analysis

Abstract

Global soil degradation due to road erosion is an escalating concern. This study employed bibliometric analysis using the Science Citation Index‐Expanded dataset to gain insights into research trends in road erosion. It covered the years 2000–2021, revealing a steady increase in annual research publications, particularly after 2018. The United States and Catena was the leading contributor and the most popular journal, respectively. The primary research areas identified by keywords and statistical analysis are the forests and arid regions in the temperate climate zone (including temperate continental climate and temperate monsoon climate) and the tropical climate zone (including tropical rainforest climate and tropical monsoon climate). Since 2012, a noticeable shift from traditional methods to emerging technologies like isotope tracing (e.g., 137Cs, 210Pb) and machine learning (e.g., random forest) was observed, indicating evolving in methodologies with changes in research scales. The study emphasized the inevitability of road erosion, highlighting the crucial role of effective road management and restoration. It proposed integrating best management practices and ecosystem restoration strategies into watershed management, combined with advanced technological approaches, to foster sustainable watershed development.