Worldwide Research Trends in Landslide Science.

Paúl Carrión-Mero,Adolfo Quesada-Román,Boris Apolo-Masache,Néstor Montalván-Burbano,Fernando Morante-Carballo

doi:10.3390/ijerph18189445

Abstract

Landslides are generated by natural causes and by human action, causing various geomorphological changes as well as physical and socioeconomic loss of the environment and human life. The study, characterization and implementation of techniques are essential to reduce land vulnerability, different socioeconomic sector susceptibility and actions to guarantee better slope stability with a significant positive impact on society. The aim of this work is the bibliometric analysis of the different types of landslides that the United States Geological Survey (USGS) emphasizes, through the SCOPUS database and the VOSviewer software version 1.6.17, for the analysis of their structure, scientific production, and the close relationship with several scientific fields and its trends. The methodology focuses on: (i) search criteria; (ii) data extraction and cleaning; (iii) generation of graphs and bibliometric mapping; and (iv) analysis of results and possible trends. The study and analysis of landslides are in a period of exponential growth, focusing mainly on techniques and solutions for the stabilization, prevention, and categorization of the most susceptible hillslope sectors. Therefore, this research field has the full collaboration of various authors and places a significant focus on the conceptual evolution of the landslide science.

Highlights

Landslides are disasters that cause damage to anthropic activities and innumerable loss of human life globally [1]
The present study aims to evaluate the intellectual structure of the landslide through performance analysis and bibliometric mapping to determine the development, patterns and trends of its scientific structure
From 1952 to 1990 (Figure 3), landslides have been analyzed from a descriptive perspective, considering the internal mechanics and the mass movement type that is generated according to the lithology and the material involved [91,92,93]

Summary

Introduction

Landslides are disasters that cause damage to anthropic activities and innumerable loss of human life globally [1]. Mass movement processes cause significant changes in the. Earth’s relief, causing economic losses due to landslides in mountainous areas with a dense population [2,3], and even in the direct and indirect cost of buildings or infrastructure on an urban scale [4,5,6]. In the evolution of the reliefs, landslides are considered to be intrinsic processes, and among other dynamics, they favor the formation of valleys [7], and the contribution of river sediments and ecological renewal. Landslides have caused costly damage and loss of life worldwide, yet the most devastating disasters occur in developing countries [10].

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