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Global biodiversity research during 1900–2009: a bibliometric analysis

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Abstract

We performed a bibliometric analysis of published biodiversity research for the period of 1900–2009, based on the Science Citation Index (SCI) database. Our analysis reveals the authorial, institutional, spatiotemporal, and categorical patterns in biodiversity research and provides an alternative demonstration of research advancements, which may serve as a potential guide for future research. The growth of article outputs has exploded since the 1990s, along with an increasing collaboration index, references, and citations. Ecology, environmental sciences, biodiversity conservations, and plant science were most frequently used subject categories in biodiversity studies, and Biological Conservation, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, Conservation Biology and Biodiversity and Conservation were most active journals in this field. The United States was the largest contributor in global biodiversity research, as the U.S. produced the most single-country and collaborative articles, had the greatest number of top research institutions, and had a central position in collaboration networks. We perceived an increasing number of both internationally collaborative and inter-institutionally collaborative articles, with the latter form of collaboration being more prevalent than the former. A keyword analysis found several interesting terminology preferences, confirmed conservation’s central position as a topic in biodiversity research, revealed the adoption of advanced technologies, and demonstrated keen interest in both the patterns and underlying processes of ecosystems. Our study reveals patterns in scientific outputs and academic collaborations and serves as an alternative and innovative way of revealing global research trends in biodiversity.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to Prof. Yuh-Shan Ho (Peking University, China) for his pioneering work in the bibliometric methods that were employed in this study. The authors would also like to thank Mr. Nan Feng (University of Alabama at Huntsville, USA), Mr. Chi Chen (University of Sydney, Australia), Ms. Wei Zou (University of Hong Kong, China), and Ms. Yangjie Guo (Wuhan University, China) for their valuable suggestions in preparing this manuscript. Comments from the anonymous referees and the editor are also gratefully appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Xingjian Liu

  2. The James and Marilyn Lovell Center for Environmental Geography and Hazards Research, Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, TX, USA

    Xingjian Liu

  3. Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China

    Liang Zhang

  4. School of Resource and Environmental Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

    Song Hong

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  1. Xingjian Liu
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  2. Liang Zhang
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Correspondence to Song Hong.

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Liu, X., Zhang, L. & Hong, S. Global biodiversity research during 1900–2009: a bibliometric analysis. Biodivers Conserv 20, 807–826 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-010-9981-z

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