A Topic-Based Trend Analysis of Wildfire Spread Research from 1982 to 2024

초록

In recent decades, the increasing frequency and severity of wildfires driven by climate change and other factors have led to a significant expansion of research on wildfire spread. This study presents a bibliometric analysis of wildfire spread research from 1982 to 2024. We compiled a dataset of scholarly publications and applied cluster analysis to identify major research topics. Using silhouette scores, we determined an optimal cluster number of approximately 20, and visualized the topic clusters with a two-dimensional embedding. We also analyzed publication trends over time, citation patterns, and keyword co-occurrence networks to understand the evolution and impact of each research topic. The results reveal a dramatic growth in wildfire spread studies over the past decade. We identified several distinct research clusters, including climate change impacts, fire behavior modeling, remote sensing applications, wildfire management strategies, and ecological effects of fires, among others. Some topics, such as climate-related wildfire research and remote sensing, have grown especially rapidly in recent years. Citation analysis indicates that certain longstanding research areas carry high influence, while emerging topics are gaining attention. The keyword network highlights interdisciplinary connections linking climate, ecology, and technology in wildfire research. This comprehensive overview of the wildfire spread research landscape offers insights into past developments and emerging directions, which can inform future research and policymaking in wildfire management.

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