Modern Pollen Research in Arid and Semi-arid Environments: A Systematic Bibliometric Review of Global Trends, Knowledge Gaps, and Future Directions.

Pollen studies are vital for calibrating fossil records and developing climate transfer functions, yet no comprehensive bibliometric synthesis exists for dryland ecosystems, which cover more than 40% of the Earth’s surface and are highly sensitive to climate change. This study presents the first systematic bibliometric review of modern pollen research in arid and semi-arid environments (2000–2025). Analyzing 894 articles Scopus indexed articles, we quantified publication trends, collaborative networks, thematic evolution, and research gaps using performance analysis, keyword co-occurrence and thematic clustering. Scientific output has grown sustainably, rising from 25 in 2000 to a peak of 52 in 2022 and reaching 42 by 2025. The geographic distribution is heavily concentrated, with China (169 publications) and the USA (127 publications) being the dominant contributors, while Africa, South America, and Central Asia remain underrepresented. Collaboration networks are primarily domestic, with limited international engagement from institutions in the Middle East and Africa. Keyword analysis revealed ‘pollen’, ‘Holocene’, ‘palynology’, and ‘paleoclimate’ as central themes. However, despite their high frequency, ‘climate change’, ‘vegetation’, and ‘drought’ remain underdeveloped basic themes with low connectivity. Critical gaps persist in standardized reference databases, fossil-modern integration, and quantitative modelling. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of modern pollen research in drylands. To advance the field, we recommend prioritizing open-access databases, building capacity in underrepresented regions, integrating multiple proxies, and strengthening fossil-modern linkages to improve pollen-based predictions of dryland responses to environmental change.