Evolving research themes in six selected wood science journals: insights from text mining and latent dirichlet allocation

This study analyzes the status, trends, and future directions in wood science research using text-mining techniques. We applied these techniques to a textual dataset constructed from metadata of six major wood science journals, covering the period from 2002 to 2024. The research explores publication trends, international collaborations, keywords, and research networks, and it employs topic modeling using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation model. The descriptive analysis reveals a consistent increase in publication volume throughout the study period, unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast, international collaboration declined after 2020, likely due to the pandemic. In addition, a network analysis identified key research areas, including surface treatments, structural composites, and high-performance wood products, with lignin, mechanical properties, and moisture content emerging as central keywords. Topic modeling reveals a growing interest in wood modification technologies and an increased focus on studying wood as a sustainable material. The study confirms a shift of the field towards sustainable innovations while also highlighting the enduring relevance of traditional research areas. Future research should adapt to these evolving trends and address emerging challenges to maximize the potential of wood for carbon neutrality and sustainable development. This analysis provides a concise overview of current research trends and future directions in wood science.