Trends and priorities in soil inorganic carbon research in arid and semi-arid ecosystems

Soil inorganic carbon (SIC) forms a major part of the global soil carbon pool, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions where it often exceeds soil organic carbon (SOC). Despite this importance, SIC has received far less attention in global carbon research. To address this gap, we carried out a bibliometric analysis of 470 publications from 1975 to 2025, focusing on SIC research in semi-arid and arid ecosystems. The results show steady growth in publications, with a marked rise after 2000, and reveal a shift in emphasis from paleoenvironmental and pedogenic studies to applied topics such as carbon sequestration, land management, and climate change. The analysis highlights a strong dominance of Chinese institutions, while research from Africa, South America, and Central Asia remains limited. Network mapping identified clusters related to applied carbon management, paleopedology, soil processes, and isotopic studies, showing both diversification and integration across disciplines. However, the lack of standardized methods continues to limit comparability among studies, and SIC remains largely absent from international carbon policy frameworks. Our findings point to the need for broader geographic coverage, harmonized methodologies, and closer integration of SIC into climate policy and carbon accounting systems.