Bibliometric mapping of authentic trees and biocultural heritage conservation research (2015-2025): a cross-scale contextualisation from northern Jordan

Old, ancient, monumental, heritage, and sacred trees are declining worldwide, and their protection is divided between ecological conservation and heritage management. Research on these trees as biocultural heritage has grown rapidly, yet no consolidated map of that literature exists, and the extent to which its themes correspond to conditions in rural Middle Eastern heritage landscapes hasn't been examined. This study maps Scopus-indexed, English-language journal literature on authentic trees and biocultural heritage conservation (2015-2025) using keyword co-occurrence analysis in VOSviewer. It reveals four major clusters: cultural heritage and rural regeneration; ecological metrics and conservation science; urban bioculturalism and green infrastructure; and ethnobiology, sacred trees, and traditional knowledge systems. However, integrating ecological conservation with traditional knowledge systems is underexplored. Italy, USA, and China emerged as the most influential contributors. The study contributes a thematic baseline and evidence-scaled implications, indicating how biocultural heritage conservation operationalises as a climate-responsive urban-architectural regenerative perspective for valorising authentic trees in traditional architecture. This contribution was generated through a cross-scale contextualisation from a spatial case study of Anjara (the rural landscape of Ajloun, Northern Jordan). Anjara diverges from the literature in the absence of authentic tree inventories, ethnobotanical documentation, and co-management arrangements: national law protects rare and centennial forest trees by species and age, not the cultivated trees that structure the settlement.