Review of the ecological impacts of cotton cultivation and the displacement of production areas

Review of the ecological impacts of cotton cultivation and the displacement of production areas | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Systematic Review Review of the ecological impacts of cotton cultivation and the displacement of production areas Manbèssoâ MEDA, Yawo Joseph SEHOUBO, René Comlan YAOVI, Sibiry Albert KABORE, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9563539/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Cotton cultivation plays a pivotal socio-economic role in many developing countries. However, its expansion and spatial displacement raise growing concerns regarding land-use change and ecological sustainability under climate change. This study provides a bibliometric analysis of literature on ecological impacts of cotton cultivation and shifting production areas. Drawing from the Scopus and Web of Science databases, 4,853 documents published between 1980 and 2026 were analyzed using performance indicators and advanced science mapping techniques implemented with the Bibliometrix R package. The results reveal a steady growth of scientific output, characterized by robust international collaboration and increasing reliance on remote sensing and spatial analysis methods. However, the literature remains geographically and thematically unbalanced, with a concentration in Asia and an under-representation of Sub-Saharan Africa. Conceptually, research is predominantly structured around cotton production, land-use change, and climate change, while biodiversity and soil degradation are often treated as secondary or fragmented components. Furthermore, most studies adopt retrospective or descriptive approaches, with a notable scarcity of integrated prospective modelling frameworks. This review identifies critical research gaps, including the paucity of climate-gradient-based analyses and the absence of forward-looking, multidisciplinary approaches integrating climatic, ecological, agronomic, and socio-economic drivers. In this context, Burkina Faso emerges as a particularly relevant case study due to its pronounced North-South climatic gradient, strong dependence on cotton production, and vulnerability to climate change. This study highlights the need for integrated assessments in order to better anticipate the ecological impacts of cotton zone displacement and to support sustainable land-use planning and policy-making in Africa. Agroecology Bibliometric analysis Cotton cultivation Land-use change Science mapping Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9563539","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Systematic Review","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":631637384,"identity":"75f2b5ac-a62c-400e-a3b2-34c3a69a9ef7","order_by":0,"name":"Manbèssoâ MEDA","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA7ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHACNjhLgqECSDIzN5Ci5QxICyMpWhjbQBQBLbrtZ489+PCnTo5/2uGDN37Oq43mbwdq+VGxDacWszN56YYz2w4bS9xOS7bs3XY8d8ZhxgbGnjO3cWs5kGMmzdtwILHhdo6ZBO+2Y7kNQC3MjG14tJx/Yyb9509d4vzb+d8k/845ljufoJYbQFsY2JgTN9zOYQNaV5O7gbCWN+aGvUC/GN5OM7aWOXYgdyNQy0G8fjmfY/bgBzDE5G4nP7z5pqYud975wwcf/KjArQUdHAaTB4hWDwR1pCgeBaNgFIyCEQIAPrxgXCKe3u0AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5063-0703","institution":"Université Nazi BONI","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Manbèssoâ","middleName":"","lastName":"MEDA","suffix":""},{"id":631646984,"identity":"ef087adc-9a6e-43ec-bd96-ca965c2eaf40","order_by":1,"name":"Yawo Joseph SEHOUBO","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Université Nazi BONI","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yawo","middleName":"Joseph","lastName":"SEHOUBO","suffix":""},{"id":631646985,"identity":"7d7e0331-45f7-419e-985e-012a6821c9a5","order_by":2,"name":"René Comlan YAOVI","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Université Nazi BONI","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"René","middleName":"Comlan","lastName":"YAOVI","suffix":""},{"id":631646986,"identity":"c37a8979-dc63-4c1e-a8cb-7b8161aaaa15","order_by":3,"name":"Sibiry Albert KABORE","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Centre Universitaire de Tenkodogo (UTS/CU/T), Université Thomas SANKARA","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sibiry","middleName":"Albert","lastName":"KABORE","suffix":""},{"id":631646987,"identity":"93456a36-f457-41c2-a76b-5c82b8776349","order_by":4,"name":"Mipro HIEN","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Université Nazi BONI","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mipro","middleName":"","lastName":"HIEN","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-29 09:26:58","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":true,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9563539/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9563539/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108491038,"identity":"7f5a1393-b94a-4557-86d3-19439b64859c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-05 09:51:27","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":858791,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"MEDAreviewarticlebibliometric21042026.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9563539/v1_covered_31483acf-9fa4-41a5-8fb8-90776cb1a837.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eReview of the ecological impacts of cotton cultivation and the displacement of production areas\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Université Nazi BONI de Bobo Dioulasso (Burkina FASO)","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Bibliometric analysis, Cotton cultivation, Land-use change, Science mapping","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9563539/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9563539/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eCotton cultivation plays a pivotal socio-economic role in many developing countries. 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