Exploring the Diverse Benefits of Pine Needle Litter for Environmental Sustainability and Economic Development: A Systematic Literature Review

Pine leaf litter is a valuable natural resource but has yet to be fully utilized. This systematic review highlights its potential use across various sectors through cross-disciplinary research to integrate pine leaf litter into sustainable practices. This research method uses PRISMA2020 guidelines for a systematic literature review in March 2024 by determining eligibility criteria, identifying sources, selecting studies, collecting data, and extracting relevant information. The results showed various benefits and impacts on the environment, agriculture, and industry. Research trends are still around its use in agriculture and the environment, while its use in industry is still rarely explored. In terms of the environment, pine leaf litter provides benefits in erosion control of up to 60 % and soil moisture retention, soil nutrient cycling, and habitat provision. Pine leaf litter is useful for natural mulching and weed control by up to 62 %. In the industrial sector, the benefits of pine leaf litter include bioenergy raw materials and the production of bioplastic materials. Information on environmental economics and the use of pine litter in agriculture and industry is still limited, making it a novelty in this study, and it can be a research agenda in the future, especially to increase the economic value of pine leaf litter and maintain environmentally sustainable economic.