The use of SWAT for hydrological modelling in Africa: Trends and hotspots through scientometric analysis

Abstract

In this study, a scientometric approach was applied to understand the trends in hydrological modelling in Africa using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and inform of the prospects in the topic. An upward trajectory in the number of publications on the topic was evident from a Web of Science (WoS) search that obtained a total of 204 articles in the period between 2005 and 2024 and following the refining process. Using VOSviewer for bibliometric visualization, the research was found to be multidisciplinary involving many research areas, organizations and countries. The Journal of Hydrology and Hydrology and Earth System Science had the most published articles while scholars from USA, South Africa and Ethiopia were the most productive in the topic based on publications. Lake Tana, the Nile and Blue Nile catchments as well as arid basins of South Africa were the most reported on due to their high vulnerability to climate changes. Evidently, research on the topic is expanding and this analysis emphasizes the need to enhance localization and incorporation of financial, technical and human-resources sharing to improve the accuracy of simulated results and in transforming research findings to solutions on hydrological challenges of Africa.