Visualization and Hotspot Prediction of Termite Research Based on Bibliometrics

Visualization and Hotspot Prediction of Termite Research Based on Bibliometrics | 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 Visualization and Hotspot Prediction of Termite Research Based on Bibliometrics Xia Zhang, Linjie Li, Jiahe You, Kai Ouyang, Binbin Hou, Ziqin Feng This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8506867/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study applies bibliometric methods to map the knowledge structure, thematic evolution, and emerging hotspots of termite research over the past century. Publications were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) from database inception to 19 June 2024 using TS=(“termites” OR “termite”), restricted to Article and Review Article. R, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace were used to analyze publication trends, influential sources, collaboration patterns, and keyword-based thematic networks. A total of 5,154 English-language records were included, with the earliest publication dating to 1926. Annual output increased markedly after 2010 and has remained at a high level. The most cited paper was Symbiotic digestion of lignocellulose in termite guts (2014). The United States, Japan, China, Brazil, and Germany were the leading contributors, and Su N. Y. showed the highest productivity and citation impact. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identified 13 major clusters, highlighting themes such as termite mounds, entomopathogenic fungi, and termite gut-related research; “defense” acted as a bridging term with high betweenness centrality. Overall, termite research has shown a growing integration between control-oriented studies and biological/ecological investigations. Cross-analysis of citation bursts and trend topics suggests that colony establishment and reproduction, termite–environment interactions, and innovations in control technologies are likely to constitute future research frontiers. termites Bibliometric Data visualization Web of Science Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 18 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 10 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 07 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 01 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 30 Jan, 2026 Editor invited by journal 19 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 16 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 15 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 15 Jan, 2026 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-8506867","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Systematic Review","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":583078439,"identity":"9f466561-0585-4d60-b233-b266d485b0b0","order_by":0,"name":"Xia Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xia","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":583078440,"identity":"a95eb4e7-9d74-4324-8ad3-56f6d91b9c49","order_by":1,"name":"Linjie Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Linjie","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":583078441,"identity":"5c5f76a4-7e79-4a66-8c72-004939aa9380","order_by":2,"name":"Jiahe You","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"School of Ecology and Nature Conservation,Beijing Forestry University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jiahe","middleName":"","lastName":"You","suffix":""},{"id":583078442,"identity":"0dd5315c-680d-4523-a5a6-e6ac0247fde3","order_by":3,"name":"Kai Ouyang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Henan University of Urban Construction","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kai","middleName":"","lastName":"Ouyang","suffix":""},{"id":583078443,"identity":"75c6e930-3e20-473c-ac20-597d5a9ce38e","order_by":4,"name":"Binbin Hou","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Binbin","middleName":"","lastName":"Hou","suffix":""},{"id":583078444,"identity":"8a08b530-890e-45d2-ba0c-04a04a01dbc7","order_by":5,"name":"Ziqin Feng","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA6ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBAC9gYQacDAA2UBwQECWngOwLTwwJQSpwUEJBKI1cLee/jljwJrGXPJtwc/87YxyPHdSGD8XIBPC8+5NAsJg3Qey9l5ydJALcaSNxKYpWfg0WIvkWNmYGBwmMfgdo4Zc24bQ+KGGwlszDz4bJF/Y2aQANJy8wxYSz1hLRI8xg8OgLTc4AFrSTAgqIUnx4yxAegXgzM5xtJ/zkkYzjzzsFkarxb2M8Yff/yxtjc4fsbw44wyG3m+48kHP+PTAgRsEgwMzDAOkM3A2IBfA1D5ByQto2AUjIJRMAowAQCgoUSViGaJQwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ziqin","middleName":"","lastName":"Feng","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-03 12:38:09","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8506867/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8506867/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Visualization and Hotspot Prediction of Termite Research Based on Bibliometrics","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-life","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Life](https://link.springer.com/journal/11084)","snPcode":"11084","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/11084/3","title":"Discover Life","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"termites, Bibliometric, Data visualization, Web of Science","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8506867/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8506867/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study applies bibliometric methods to map the knowledge structure, thematic evolution, and emerging hotspots of termite research over the past century. Publications were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) from database inception to 19 June 2024 using TS=(\u0026ldquo;termites\u0026rdquo; OR \u0026ldquo;termite\u0026rdquo;), restricted to Article and Review Article. R, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace were used to analyze publication trends, influential sources, collaboration patterns, and keyword-based thematic networks. A total of 5,154 English-language records were included, with the earliest publication dating to 1926. Annual output increased markedly after 2010 and has remained at a high level. The most cited paper was Symbiotic digestion of lignocellulose in termite guts (2014). The United States, Japan, China, Brazil, and Germany were the leading contributors, and Su N. Y. showed the highest productivity and citation impact. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identified 13 major clusters, highlighting themes such as termite mounds, entomopathogenic fungi, and termite gut-related research; \u0026ldquo;defense\u0026rdquo; acted as a bridging term with high betweenness centrality. Overall, termite research has shown a growing integration between control-oriented studies and biological/ecological investigations. Cross-analysis of citation bursts and trend topics suggests that colony establishment and reproduction, termite\u0026ndash;environment interactions, and innovations in control technologies are likely to constitute future research frontiers.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Visualization and Hotspot Prediction of Termite Research Based on Bibliometrics","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-02 12:42:40","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8506867/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-02-18T09:44:17+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-02-10T16:00:13+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-02-07T11:56:15+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"126894812774399310437632297036746385066","date":"2026-02-02T12:29:15+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"206944496998811022177731225227135201740","date":"2026-02-02T01:16:40+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-01-30T13:47:57+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-01-19T05:23:21+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-01-16T08:57:01+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-01-15T06:10:51+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Discover Life","date":"2026-01-15T06:02:23+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-life","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Life](https://link.springer.com/journal/11084)","snPcode":"11084","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/11084/3","title":"Discover Life","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"01cd0874-cc6d-42c9-bb82-0962211cd0ba","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 2nd, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-27T14:54:46+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-02 12:42:40","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8506867","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8506867","identity":"rs-8506867","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}