The Research Trends and Application Prospects of Waterlogging Tolerance in Garden Plants Through Bibliometric Analysis

With the intensification of global climate change and urbanization, extreme rainfall and urban flooding have become increasingly frequent, making the flood tolerance of garden plants a key issue in urban landscaping and ecology. Identifying research progress and development trends in the waterlogging tolerance of garden plants, as well as selecting waterlogging-tolerant species, is a core strategy for advancing urban ecological development. This study employed the Web of Science database to conduct a systematic search using subject, title, and keyword criteria. After excluding irrelevant studies through full-text reviews, 164 articles were selected. Using bibliometric analysis, the research systematically reviewed relevant literature published over the past 21 years on waterlogging tolerance in landscape plants, both domestically and internationally, analyzing research trends and hotspots, while summarizing the physiological and molecular responses of garden plants in flood-prone environments. The research indicates significant differences in flood tolerance among different species of garden plants. The main research directions include morphology, physiology, molecular biology, ecology, cultivation, and species selection, with molecular biology emerging as a key area of development in recent years. Furthermore, in the context of global climate change, this study identifies 50 flood-tolerant plants with high ecological value, and proposes guidelines for selecting flood-tolerant species. It concludes by discussing future research directions in flood tolerance and the potential applications of these plants in urban landscaping, sponge city construction, and ecological restoration.