Development trends and hot topics in China’s groundwater management research based on CiteSpace

To systematically examine the development trends and hot topics in China’s groundwater management research, this paper conducts a visualized bibliometric analysis of publication trends, core authors, institutional affiliations, and keyword co-occurrence, drawing on core journals indexed in the CNKI database from 1992 to 2025. The findings are as follows. First, the evolution of groundwater management research in China has progressed relatively slowly, with its temporal pattern closely aligned with shifts in national policy priorities. Second, two major research clusters have emerged, each demonstrating strong internal collaboration but limited cross-group interaction. Third, the spatial distribution of research institutions reflects a trend of “polycentric expansion”, though the presence of resource concentration in a few leading institutions remains evident. Finally, research priorities have gradually shifted from technology-oriented issues such as resource exploitation and pollution prevention to governance-oriented ones such as governance capacity building and policy instrument deployment. This transition reflects a broader trend of integrating groundwater research into the modernization of China’s national governance system, highlighting a movement toward institutional innovation and comprehensive policy coordination.