Soil animal ecology in China: Two decades of progress and future prospects

Abstract

Soil ecological research in China has accelerated rapidly over the past two decades, with the historically understudied field of soil animal ecology making particularly notable progress. Through a comprehensive bibliometric analysis and literature review, we synthesize these advancements. We document a remarkable increase from 725 to 1094 in global annual publications, driven by national monitoring networks and a shift from taxonomic inventories to functional ecology. Notably, China’s share of global publications in soil fauna research surged from less than 5% in 2006 to 27% in 2025, emerging as a driving force in advancing the field. Key advancements include elucidating the role of soil fauna as bioindicators of climate change and land-use intensification, quantifying their engineering effects on carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling at continental scales, and uncovering the mechanisms by which multi-trophic interactions regulate ecosystem multifunctionality. Despite these gains, critical gaps remain in scaling mechanistic understanding from microcosms to fields and in predicting responses under interacting global changes. We propose a future research agenda emphasizing technological innovation, coordinated networks, and theory integration to position China at the forefront of developing soil biodiversity-based solutions for global sustainability challenges.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

soil fauna / biodiversity / biogeography / research trends / China / ecosystem function

Highlight

	● Tracks the research advances of soil animal ecology research over the past two decades in China.
	● Positions soil fauna as bioindicators, quantifies their ecosystem engineering effects, and uncovers how multi-trophic interactions regulate multifunctionality.
	● Proposes a strategic framework for soil biodiversity-based solutions to tackle global sustainability challenges.

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