A bibliometric and visualization analysis of global research on saline-alkali soil microbiology

【Background and Objective】Soil salinization is a major constraint to sustainable agricultural production, and amending such soils with salt-tolerant microorganisms has been found to be effective in improving soil quality and enhancing crop tolerance to water and salinity stress. This paper analyzes international research in this area.【Method】Bibliometric analysis was conducted using VOSviewer and CiteSpace to systematically examine publications from 2004 to 2024 on saline-alkali soil microbiology retrieved from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI, 652 articles) and the Web of Science Core Collection (WOS, 982 articles).【Result】Annual publications in saline–alkali soil microbiology showed a substantial increase during this period, with publications in English journals consistently and markedly overshadowing those in Chinese journals. China led the world, publishing 1 103 papers and collaborating with 26 countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom. Keyword clustering analysis showed that research hotspots in this field were: ①microbial community structure and its environmental drivers; ②mechanisms underlying plant-microbe interactions and their ecological functions; and ③ screening of salt-tolerant and growth-promoting microorganisms, as well as the mechanisms underlying biological remediation of saline-alkali soils. From 2004 to 2024, research on microbiology in saline-alkali soil can be divided into three stages: an early stage (2004—2015) emphasizing species identification and soil improvement; a middle stage (2016—2020) focusing on microbial community ecology and functional characterization; and the most recent stage (2021—2024) characterized by increased attention to the regulation of the microbe-soil-plant system.【Conclusion】Future research in saline-alkali soil microbiology will depend on international collaboration and interdisciplinary cooperation. Advances in multi-omics approaches, big data and artificial intelligence will enable systematic elucidation of microbial community assembly and functional regulation mechanisms, which will promote precision microbial management, functional strain development, and microbiome restoration. These advances will provide environmentally friendly solutions for remediating saline-alkali soils and sustaining agricultural production to meet the growing demand for food.