Research Progress and Prospects of Ecological Conservation Areas in China: A Visual Analysis Based on CiteSpace

In order to systematically review the research progress and cutting-edge trends in the field of ecological conservation areas in China, this paper conducted a visual analysis of 157 core journal papers related to ecological conservation areas, indexed in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database from 2005 to 2026, using the CiteSpace bibliometric tool. The results showed that the number of published papers on ecological conservation areas has generally been increasing, and policy orientation was the key factor driving the research hotspots. High-download literatures focused on issues such as ecological compensation, garbage classification, coupled coordination degree evaluation, and the realization of ecological product value. The keywords analysis revealed that the researches mainly revolved around four aspects: green development, ecological products, agricultural revitalization, and ecological barriers. Meanwhile, the research topics have gradually expanded from the early functional definition and ecological governance to dimensions such as green development, industrial integration, and spatial differentiation. The author-institution collaboration network showed a regional clustering characteristic centered on Beijing area, and overall cross-regional and interdisciplinary collaboration needed to be strengthened. In the future, research should be deepened in directions such as the mechanism for realizing the value of ecological products, livelihood security and population mobility, and summarizing and promoting typical models, in order to provide academic support for the construction of ecological civilization and high-quality regional development.