Bibliometric Analysis of Nature-Based Therapy Research

Abstract

Unrestrained urbanisation and natural space loss are reducing contact with nature in today's society, producing negative consequences for people's mental and physical health and wellbeing. Nature-based therapies, such as physical activity in natural settings, forest bathing, therapeutic hiking, or experiential learning, reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms and improve the quality of life in both general and specific populations. A bibliometric analysis of research on nature-based therapies was performed by applying the traditional laws of bibliometrics (exponential growth law, Bradford's concentration law, Lotka's law, Zipf's law, etc.) to documents published in journals indexed in the Core Collection of the Web of Science (WoS). Graphical visualisation was performed using the VOSviewer software. Annual publications between 2006 and 2021 presented an exponential growth trend (R² = 91%). The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (MDPI) and Urban Forestry & Urban Greening (Elsevier) were the most productive and cited journals. Ikei, Miyazaki, and Song are the most cited prolific authors. The USA and South Korea were the countries with the highest scientific production. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in adventure, nature, and forest therapies among researchers. Nature-based therapies have experienced a growing interest in recent years. Positive effects on mental, physical, and emotional health have been found in different populations and research lines, although more studies with different designs and populations are needed.

Keywords: bibliometrics; green spaces; health; one health; wellbeing.

Figure 1

Annual publications trend on nature-based therapy research. The bold line represents the number of publications in each year, and the dotted one is the exponential growth curve that fits the number of publications.

Figure 2

Prolific and prominent co-authors. VOSviewer: node size (documents); colour (average of citations). Notes: analysis: association strength; attraction: 10; repulsion: −4; scale: 1.35; bode size: documents; colour: citations average.

Figure 3

Countries/regions in co-authorship. VOSviewer: analysis: association strength; attraction: 6; repulsion: −2; clustering: resolution (1) and minimum cluster size (1); scale: 1.70; node size: documents; colour: cluster.

Figure 4

Most frequent author keywords. VOSviewer; analysis: association strength; attraction: 6; repulsion: −2; clustering: resolution (1) and minimum cluster size (1); scale: 1.70; node size: documents; colour: cluster.

Figure 5

Most cited documents and their interrelationships. VOSviewer; analysis: association strength; attraction: 6; repulsion: −1; clustering: resolution (1) and minimum cluster size (1); scale: 1.35; node size: citations; colour: cluster.