Beneath the Surface: A Scientometric Review of Edaphic Fauna of Agricultural Landscapes

Soil fauna play a crucial role in agricultural development, directly influencing soil health and crop productivity. This study utilized scientometric analysis to investigate current knowledge about soil fauna across different agricultural agroecosystems. A total of 1,127 documents were identified in the Web of Science Core Collection using the search terms, covering research from 1967 to 2024. The findings showed a steady increase in publications, peaking in 2022. Brazil, France, and China were the most productive countries, with France showing significant influence, marked by a centrality of 0.25. The analysis of knowledge areas and keywords indicated a growing interdisciplinarity in the study of soil fauna, reflecting a rising interest in understanding ecological relationships comprehensively. The main organisms evaluated include meso and macrofauna, earthworms, mites, springtails and nematodes, with variations in management practices focusing on the functions that soil fauna performs within the agroecosystem. Although research has traditionally focused on conventional agricultural systems, attention is shifting toward agroecological and organic systems. Emerging trends include studies on toxicology and food chains, emphasizing topics such as microplastics and interactions with microorganisms. Therefore, this study provides a comprehensive and current overview of soil fauna research in agricultural environments, highlights the increasing importance of soil fauna in the development of sustainable agricultural systems, and anticipates continued interest in this area, particularly in relation to broader ecological relationships, suggesting future research directions.