Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Root ecology has rapidly advanced as a key discipline for understanding plant adaptive strategies and ecosystem functioning. However, comprehensive assessments of its overarching framework remain limited. This study provides a global perspective by systematically analysing research power, intellectual bases and research frontiers in root ecology. METHODS: We analysed 35 371 articles from the Web of Science Core Collection using CiteSpace and VOSviewer within a customized bibliometric framework. Co-occurrence analyses based on publication volume, citation frequency and micro-citation labels revealed the spatiotemporal distribution of research power. Intellectual bases and research frontiers were identified through document co-citation and cluster analyses. KEY RESULTS: The results indicate a three-phase growth trajectory in root ecology research over the past decade. China (13 027 articles) and the USA (5679 articles) dominate global academic output. Frontiers in Plant Science (2721 articles) and Plant and Soil (1436 articles) are the leading journals in terms of publication volume. Key articles forming the intellectual base of this field were identified and interpreted, encompassing six major aspects, including method standardization and the root economics spectrum theory. The research frontiers were clustered into five core themes - abiotic stress, microbial symbiosis, ecological remediation, functional traits and physiological mechanisms - which were further subdivided into 19 specific research directions. CONCLUSIONS: Root ecology is evolving from a primarily theoretical discipline towards practical applications. To support sustainable agriculture, ecological restoration and carbon neutrality, the development of global observation networks and multifactorial stress models should be further advanced.