State of the Art Research on Sustainable Use of Water Hyacinth: A Bibliometric and Text Mining Analysis

Aman Basu,Andrew B Ross,Amit Kumar Hazra,Srinivasan Balachandran,Shibani Chaudhury

doi:10.3390/informatics8020038

Aman Basu, Andrew B Ross + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/informatics8020038

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Abstract

This study aims to present a systematic data-driven bibliometric analysis of the water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) infestation problem around the globe. As many solutions are being proposed in academia for its management, mitigation, and utilization, it requires investigation through a systematic scrutinizing lens. In this study, literature records from 1977 to June 2020 concerning research on water hyacinth are taken from Scopus for text analysis. Trends in the publication of different article types, dynamics of publication, clustering, correlation, and co-authoring patterns between different countries are observed. The cluster analysis indicated four clusters viz. (i) ecological works related to species, (ii) pollutant removal process and methods, (iii) utilization of biofuels for biogas production, and (iv) modelling works. It is clear from the networking analysis that most of the publications regarding water hyacinth are from India, followed by China and the United States. Sentiment analysis with the AFINN lexicon showed that the negative sentiment towards the aquatic weed has intensified over time. An exploratory analysis was performed using a bigram network plot, depicting and outlining different important domains of water hyacinth research. Water hyacinth research has passed the pioneering phase and is now at the end of a steady growth phase or at the beginning of an acceleration phase. In this article, an overview is given for the entirety of water hyacinth research, with an indication of future trends and possibilities.

Highlights

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia sp.) is a floating aquatic macrophyte with large vascular tissue
This study provides a general bibliometric overview of literature regarding the aquatic weed and aims to understand the mitigation strategies used or proposed for controlling and utilizing water hyacinth for energy, valorization of materials, and bioremediation through the time-scape
The data for text mining were collected from Scopus with the following search command: TITLE-ABS-KEY AND (LIMIT-TO (EXACTKEYWORD, “Eichhornia Crassipes”) OR LIMIT-TO (EXACTKEYWORD, “Water Hyacinth”))

Summary

Introduction

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia sp.) is a floating aquatic macrophyte with large vascular tissue. It is well adapted to various environmental conditions and has a fast growth rate It has high morphological elasticity as well as sexual and vegetative reproduction capabilities, helping its widespread persistence [1]. Because of such adaptable characteristics, it is highly invasive in nature, resulting in extensive damage to aquatic ecosystems. This macrophyte, which is native to the Amazon River Basin, was introduced to the United States in 1884 and later, gradually, to Asia, Africa, Australia, and to other parts of the world. Because of its rapid infestation and persistent distribution, its management and control has become an issue for many countries and regions, as well as a major challenge for academia to tackle

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