Advancing Research on Urban Ecological Corridors in the Context of Carbon Neutrality: Insights from Bibliometric and Systematic Reviews

The construction and maintenance of ecological corridors not only facilitate species migration and gene flow but also enhance ecosystem stability and resilience, providing critical support for achieving global carbon neutrality goals. Despite their importance, research on urban ecological corridors—specifically their role in carbon sequestration and emission reduction within urban environments—remains insufficiently explored. To address this gap, we employed bibliometric and network analysis methods, utilizing the CiteSpace6.3.1 visualization tool to systematically review existing literature from the Web of Science Core Collection database. This study examines the research progress and trends in urban ecological corridors from 2000 to 2023, focusing on their role and significance in the context of global carbon neutrality. The findings reveal the following: (1) Research attention has grown steadily from 2000 to 2023, with climate change, carbon emission dynamics, and biodiversity emerging as core themes, reflecting increasing global focus on the carbon neutrality functions of urban ecological corridors. (2) CiteSpace analysis identified key research hotspots through keywords including climate change, carbon cycle, ecosystem services, model simulation, and ecological network analysis, revealing the functional mechanisms and pathways of urban ecological corridors in carbon neutrality contexts. (3) Current scientific challenges focus on understanding three core aspects of urban ecological corridors, the compositional elements, spatial structural design, and functional capacity assessment, requiring systematic theoretical breakthroughs. (4) Future research should prioritize exploring mechanisms to enhance urban ecological corridor functions and constructing low-carbon urban ecological networks, providing theoretical guidance and practical pathways for achieving urban emission reduction and climate goals. This study contributes to integrating research on the effectiveness of urban ecological corridors and carbon sinks, offering theoretical insights and practical guidance for reducing urban emissions and achieving climate goals.