Harnessing Microbes for Forest Commodities: Topics and Trends on Microbial Applications in Wood and Non-Wood Industries

Understanding the trajectory of microbial biotechnology research is essential for identifying novel processes, techniques, and applications to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of bioeconomic activities. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of global research on microbial applications in forestry-related industries to elucidate key research themes and trends within this domain. Through topic modeling of publications on microbial applications in wood and wood-based products, we identified 14 distinct topics from a dataset of 805 abstracts containing 152,265 terms. A continuing surge of research was found, particularly on microbial enzymes employed primarily in pulp and paper production. There was also a rising publication trend related to microbe applications in bioenergy and agarwood, reflecting an increasing interest in diversifying forest-based bioeconomy. Most scientific publications originated from major producers and traders of forest-based products. To advance bioeconomic objectives, it is critical to foster increased collaborative research on microbe-based technologies within the forestry industry.