Trends in Post-Fire Erosion Studies: A Bibliometric Analysis

This study examines scientific approaches to post-fire erosion processes using a bibliometric method, based on 328 scientific publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection between 1980 and 2024, involving 935 authors and characterized by an international collaboration rate of 31.1%, highlighting the global scale of research in post-fire erosion. The findings indicate an average annual publication growth rate of 7.39%, with terms such as “wildfire,” “soil erosion,” and “runoff” frequently used in the literature. The increasing visibility of concepts like “climate change” and “remote sensing” reflects the growing importance of technological approaches. The evaluated publications reveal that post-fire erosion should not be considered merely as a physical process of soil loss but as a complex and interdisciplinary environmental issue linked to climate change, ecosystem services, water management, soil biology, and the carbon cycle. Technology-related keywords, particularly remote sensing and modeling approaches, have become increasingly prominent in literature. The United States and Spain play a central role in terms of publication volume, scientific research funding, and international collaboration in this field. The findings underscore the critical importance of international cooperation. Particularly for Mediterranean countries, which are heavily affected by wildfires, there is a need to focus more on post-fire erosion research and increase financial support for such studies.