Bibliometric analysis of ecological security pattern construction: Current status, evolution, and development trends

• Retrieve 823 articles published over 24 years in SCIE and SSCI databases. • Research on ESP is in a phase of rapid growth. • China is the most active country in ESP research. • Closed-loop ecological security pattern construction is an important trend. • Whole process, multi-scale and multi-targets need to be emphasised in future studies. The construction of effective ecological security patterns is crucial for sustaining ecosystem health and preserving the functionality of ecological services. This approach is vital for improving human well-being and protecting ecological security. This study employs bibliometric analysis to examine the topic of ecological security pattern construction, with a systematic review of 823 articles published from 2000 to 2024, analyzed from quantitative and visual angles. The analysis uncovers research progress, identifies hotspots, and outlines key themes. The findings show that China has a substantial lead in publication numbers (77.02%), with Europe dominating in terms of average citations per paper. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany are leaders in international collaboration, with over 50% of their publications being collaborative efforts. The primary outlets for these publications are top-tier and open-access journals, with Ecological Indicators topping both the publication count and citation frequency. The study’s main themes encompass ecological security, ecosystem services, conservation planning, urban growth boundaries, ecological corridors, ecological networks, and green infrastructure. The study elucidates research progress and gaps through a closed-loop construction process of ecological security assessment—source identification—corridor extraction—effectiveness evaluation. Finally, the paper proposes three key directions for future ecological security pattern construction: integrity, scale, and dynamism. This study aids researchers in gaining a deeper understanding of the current state of ecological security pattern construction research and provides historical references for future studies.