Bibliometric analysis of grass-based livestock husbandry in China

Using the CiteSpace document visualization tool, the present study analyzed the current status, hotspots, evolution paths, and frontiers of grass-Based livestock husbandry (GLiH) research in China. The results are as follows. 1) GLiH research began in 1992. Since then, the number of related documents has shown an increasing trend, and a number of influential research institutions have been established; however, the overall correlation between authors and institutions is not strong. 2) From the perspectives of the co-occurrence and clustering of keywords, research hotspots mainly focused on the following three aspects: animal husbandry development and grasslands or grassland ecological environmental protection, GLiH production technology, and GLiH sustainable development. The first research stage focused on animal husbandry development; the second stage on grassland ecological protection and sustainable development; and the final stage focused on GLiH and related industry development, transformation, and upgrade. These stage characteristics of the frontier research on animal husbandry were consistent with the evolution path of keywords. Frontier analysis indicated that future research should pay attention to the efficient supply of herbivore and livestock products, the “three-way” adjustment of planting structure, the transition of grassland production to ecology, and the development of GLiH to the increase the income of farmers and efficiency of farming.