Next Article in Journal
Optimal Allocation and Sizing of Distributed Generation Using Interval Power Flow
Next Article in Special Issue
Sustainable Supply Chain Management, Performance Measurement, and Management: A Review
Previous Article in Journal
Tangential Heritage Values in Museum Communication
Previous Article in Special Issue
Industry 4.0 and Beyond: A Review of the Literature on the Challenges and Barriers Facing the Agri-Food Supply Chain
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Sustainability
Volume 15
Issue 6
10.3390/su15065158
sustainability-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles thumb_up
...
Endorse textsms
...
Comment
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Review

Shaping the Knowledge Base of Bioeconomy Sectors Development in Latin American and Caribbean Countries: A Bibliometric Analysis

by
Maria Lourdes Ordoñez Olivo
1,* and
Zoltán Lakner
2
1
Doctoral School of Economy and Regional Planning, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
2
Department of Agricultural Business and Economics, Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 1118 Budapest, Hungary
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5158; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065158
Submission received: 29 January 2023 / Revised: 9 March 2023 / Accepted: 10 March 2023 / Published: 14 March 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prospects and Challenges of Bioeconomy Sustainability Assessment)
Browse Figures
Versions Notes

Abstract

:
Academic research on bioeconomy sectors in Latin American and Caribbean countries has developed exponentially over the last few years. Based on the Web of Science (WOS) database and statistical analysis of more than 18.9 thousand documents, the current article offers a bibliometric analysis of these datasets. The main bioeconomy sector identified in the results was biofuel production and all the background terms related to the primary processes of bioenergy. The other segments of the bioeconomy in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region have not yet been studied with the same relevance as biofuels. Since 2008, researchers from Latin American and Caribbean countries have participated significantly in the scientific production of the field studied. However, the most relevant scientific journals belong to European countries or the United States. Journals from Latin American and Caribbean countries have very low representation, although the search topics are directly related to this region. Based on the co-occurrence of keywords, eight clusters with different levels of importance can be distinguished: (1) agriculture; (2) climate change; (3) biodiversity; (4) bioremediation; (5) bioenergy; (6) biofuels; (7) energy efficiency; and (8) bioeconomy. The above results highlight the significant research gap between biofuels and other types of bioeconomy sectors in the region. This is despite the immense biodiversity potential of the LAC countries, which can generate innovative products with bioeconomic added value that can stimulate scientific research in the sustainable bioeconomy.

Graphical Abstract

1. Introduction

According to the Global Bioeconomy Summit in 2018, bioeconomy refers to “the production, utilization, and conservation of biological resources, including related knowledge, science, technology, and innovation, to provide information, products, processes, and services across all economic sectors aiming towards a sustainable economy [1]”.
One of the main goals of the bioeconomy is the reduction of non-renewable fossil energy use and its replacement by renewable resources [2,3,4]. Nevertheless, other objectives include linking all economic and industrial sectors that use biological resources and process them to produce food, feed, bio-based products, and services [5] or, in some cases, the optimization of the life cycle of the products and the creation of secondary markets for bio-based products [6].
According to Linser, S. (2020), many bioeconomy strategies are relevant to several SDGs (14 out of 17), making it a sustainable pathway to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals [7,8]. Furthermore, bioeconomy can be seen as a response to at least four emerging and converging global challenges: (a) growing global population; (b) increasing global demand for biomass (at least 60% above current rates), exacerbating the scarcity of natural resources; (c) growing evidence that the era of oil and cheap energy is coming to an end; and (d) concerns about climate change [4,8]. In summary, the relationship of the bioeconomy to SDGs and the global challenges can be grouped into three dimensions: socio-economic, environmental, industrial, and economic drivers [9,10].
These drivers are directly related to the sustainability aspects of the bioeconomy, towards which progress can be made when certain conditions are met [11]: “(i) sustainability of the resource base; (ii) sustainability of processes and products; and (iii) circular processes of material flows” [12]. In addition, the environmental and production components of bioeconomy development approaches need to be closely linked to how bio-resources are supplied, produced, and consumed [13].
The potential of the bioeconomy needs to be steered in the right direction to ensure that it works for people, food and nutrition security, and sustainable economic growth while preventing climate change and not harming the environment [14,15]. Therefore, some countries around the world contributed with significant knowledge, policy, and institutional efforts to develop bioeconomy strategies.
According to the German Bioeconomy Council [1], the bioeconomy has gained strength worldwide and is a certainty in many developed countries such as Germany, France, Finland, the Netherlands, Russia, and Japan [16]. At the beginning of 2018, nearly fifty countries have included a defined bioeconomy policy or strategy in their development plans or in their sub-regional procedures.
Nowadays, the bioeconomy has also been adopted by many low and middle-income countries as a new development concept and as part of their commitments to the Paris Climate Agreement [17]. In the case of Latin America and the Caribbean, a sustainable bioeconomy could open up new opportunities for economic development and industrialization and support economic and social goals [8,18].
Latin American and Caribbean countries have the most significant global endowments of natural capital because of their great diversity and natural resources, which are primarily the basis of their economies [19]. The region possesses the highest biomass production related to the availability of soil, water, and land [20]. Due to its high level of biodiversity, it tends to make a more significant contribution to the quality of life of people on average than other regions of the world [21,22].
In this context, the bioeconomy in Latin America and Caribbean countries has two main sets of objectives. On a global level, the region plays a critical role in contributing to global food, fiber, and energy balances, while improving environmental sustainability. Within the region’s boundaries, the bioeconomy is a new source of opportunities for equitable growth through improved agricultural and biomass production [23,24].
Considering the comparative advantages and experiences in the countries of the Latin America and Caribbean region, Trigo et al. identified six distinct pathways that offer a holistic approach to the bioeconomy initiatives in the region. These six pathways include “(a) biodiversity resources exploitation; (b) eco intensification of agriculture, (c) biotechnology applications; (d) bio-refineries and bio-products, (e) value chain efficiency improvement; and (f) ecosystem services” [23].
The aim of this paper is to present a bibliometric analysis of the bioeconomy sectors developed in Latin American and Caribbean countries in recent years, based on the authors’ evaluation criteria to determine the final products obtained from biomass processing, which in this study are biofuels, bioenergy, biotextiles, biocosmetics, and biopharmaceuticals. The countries considered in the analysis are those that have relevant bioeconomic approaches according to the revised bibliography (in the case of South America, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, and Chile and in the case of the Caribbean, Mexico, Cuba, and Costa Rica).

2. Materials and Methods

In the present research, we applied the traditional bibliometric analysis. Figure 1 presents the workflow of the essential steps used in the dataset.

2.1. Data Sources and Collection

The bibliometric research has been carried out on the basis of the Web of Science database. A total of 18,971 documents were the subject of the analysis, and the time span of the publications under consideration was between 1977 and 2021.
To determine the most suitable keyword combination, the authors applied the parti pris concept [25]. In the first phase, we downloaded 50 articles using the simplest keyword combinations and then analyzed the distribution of relevant keywords using text mining methods. Subsequently, we set up a preliminary dictionary of potential keywords, which was carried out separately by each of the two co-authors. In the second phase, we determined the standard set of dictionaries and analyses the proportion of such words in the lexicon of each of the authors. At the end of this phase, we applied “Roget’s Thesaurus” [26] to determine the potential synonyms of the research terms. After all these stages, we consider that we have achieved the type of keyword combination, which proved to be quite solid and robust, and which includes the main sectors of the bioeconomy developed in Latin American and Caribbean countries, with relevant bioeconomic initiatives related to the final products obtained from biomass.
The present research had the most reliable and interpretable results with the following keyword combination: TS = (((“bioet*”) OR (“bioenergy*”) OR (“biodies*”) OR (“biogas*”) OR (“short rotation crop*”) OR (“biofuel”) OR (“energytree*”) OR (“energygaps”) OR (“energyplantation”) OR (“energy plantation”) OR (“energy forest*”) OR (“biomass*”) OR (“biocosmetic*”) OR (“bio-cosmetic*”) OR (“biopharma*”) OR (“biofiber*”) OR (“biofibrer*”)) AND (((“Brazil*”) OR (“Brasil*”)) OR (“Argentin*”) OR (“Chile*”) OR (“Uruguay*”) OR (“Mexic*”) OR (“Cuba*”) OR (“Colombia*”) OR (“Costa Rica*”))).
Given the large size of the corpus to be analyzed, it was decided to apply structural breaks according to the number of publications that had changed over time for the bioeconomy sectors developed in Latin America and the Caribbean. The structural breaks in the time series were determined using the algorithms of the Strucchange R-package [27], the specialist estimation Z.L, and the econometric time-series analysis carried out by the econometric software Gretl (ver. 2022.c-64) [28]. On this basis, four periods were identified: 2000, 2001, and 2007, 2008 and 2014, and from 2015 to 2021. The interpretation and justification of these four periods are based on the milestone years in various historical datasets that have been researched for this purpose (Table 1), in addition to the results of the mathematical and statistical methods carried out using R and Gretl software. The mentioned sources provide statistical data regarding the established breakpoints and the period variance (Appendix A, Figure A1, Figure A2 and Figure A3).
Prior to the year 2000, the bioeconomy sectors in the world were taking their first steps towards development, in particular in regions such as Latin America and the Caribbean. According to the International Renewable Agency [29], public investment in the bioenergy sector did not exceed 13.6 million. This indicator is also related to the consumption of final energy from renewable sources, which was 0.62% lower than the next established breakpoint [30,31]. Since 2001, there has been evidence of significant changes in the level of consumption of biofuels at the global level and in the clean supply of renewable sources in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean [32,33]. Finally, a significant increase in bioeconomy sectors worldwide occurred between 2008 and 2014; this could also be directly related to the policies and strategies proposed in EEUU, Canada, Germany, Austria, and Finland [34,35].

2.2. Data Analysis

In order to analyze and visualize the corpus data, a detailed bibliometric analysis was carried out using the Bibliometrix R-package. This program provides a wide variety of statistical functions (linear and non-linear modeling, classical statistical tests, time-series analysis, classification, clustering) and graphical techniques [36,37]. To complement the statistical analysis of the research, we also used the VOSviewer 1.6.18 software [38,39,40]. Table 2 shows the statistical indicators applied in the present research.
It is important to emphasize that the data obtained are the result of a global search for scientific production in the periods indicated and follow the keywords defined as the most appropriate for this research.

2.3. Limitations

During the keyword search process, after following the guidelines in Figure 1, we noted that we had achieved the type of keyword combinations that were robust and firm enough to achieve the results to be displayed. The previous statement indicates that subtracting or adding a less relevant keyword could not considerably influence the number of results.
It is important to note that, as described in the methodology, the definition of the search terms was based on the previous review of 50 scientific articles that showed a priority focus on one of the most technologically and economically developed sectors in the region, i.e., biofuels. A few initiatives related to other biomass-derived products could also be considered relevant sectors. Therefore, only those initiatives identified in the keyword search were included.
However, as authors, we are aware that our research only covers some sectors currently considered part of the bioeconomy, which may have been further developed and researched. Similarly, we know this research only covers some relevant articles on the subject, as it is extensive and has grown exponentially in recent years.

3. Results

3.1. General Characteristics of the Corpus

The corpus of this research contains 18,971 documents. It represents a global search of scientific production in the four periods indicated, according to the keywords used. The published documents are analyzed according to the authors, the institutions linked to the corresponding countries, and the average number of citations of the articles at the world level [43]. In this set of data, the average number of citations per article per year is relatively high (2.068).
Figure 2 shows the global scientific publications between 1977 and 2021 in relation to the bioeconomy sectors developed in the LAC region. The high level of interest is reflected between the years 2000 and 2021, with 91% of the scientific production concentrated within the evaluation period of 44 years. This interest is also directly related to the investments made in LAC countries in the final products derived from biomass processing, such as biofuels and others. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency [41], there has been an 11 percentage point increase in investment in renewable energy in LAC since 2004, compared to a 6 percentage point increase worldwide. Countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Chile have joined the list of the world’s top 10 renewable energy markets.
Table 3 shows an analysis of the cumulative share of publications in the corpus, based on the global search of scientific output in the analyzed period. This cumulative share is a measure constructed from the publication frequency of the corresponding authors (intra- and inter-CCP country) during the four periods analyzed. In the early years of bioeconomy development in LAC, it was dominated by the United States and four representative South American countries: Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile. The European countries of Germany and the United Kingdom appear in sixth and seventh place among the producing countries in the following period analyzed. From 2008 onwards, there is a rapid increase in the participation of other South American countries, such as Colombia and Cuba, and the appearance of major Asian countries, such as China and India. In recent years, the share of Latin American countries has grown even faster: five countries are among the 20 most productive.
The above data are consistent with González, C. et al., (2016) findings. They show that developing countries are narrowing their science gap, with R&D investment and scientific impact growing at more than twice the rate of the developed world. However, among the countries assessed, the scientific output and impact are relative to their level of investment and the resources available to them and are not necessarily being carried out in an efficient manner [44].
Figure 3 shows the temporal changes during the four implementation periods of the bioeconomy sectors in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is based on the frequency of publications per country over time and interpreted in the territorial maps. In all the periods analyzed, Brazil and the United States were in the lead in terms of scientific production, followed by Central and South American countries such as Mexico and Argentina. The main difference lies in the frequency fluctuation of publications (expressed as a percentage on the map) among these key countries. Another interesting process observed in the last ten years is the active role of countries such as Brazil, which is the leading producer, accounting for almost 42% of the total number of publications, followed by the United States (17%), Mexico (13%), Argentina (9%), and Chile (7%). All these data highlight the global nature of bioeconomy sectors and the importance of Latin American countries in scientific production on this subject.
Based on the number of scientific articles published per journal, Table 4 shows the most relevant academic journals. For the purposes of this analysis, the descendant rank of the journal and the country of origin are taken into account accordingly. It is interesting to note that developed countries account for a higher proportion of top scientific research articles and have a robust research impact in this field. European countries such as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Germany, together with the United States, are in the top 10 of the journal spectrums. Contrary to the previous analysis of country production, in the case of top journals, only a few belong to South American countries, such as Brazil, with the highest participation, followed by Chile and Costa Rica.
This phenomenon can also be explained in terms of the gross domestic expenditure on R&D that countries invest on an annual basis. In 2018, North America and Western Europe invested around 2.5% of their GDP, while Latin America and the Caribbean invested only 0.7%, according to the Unesco Global R&D Investment Report [45]. If we analyze the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, Brazil is the country that invests the most, with 1.7% of GDP, and is ranked 9th among the top 10 countries in the world for investing in R&D. Several studies show that there is a strong positive correlation between R&D expenditure and scientific production [46,47]. Melo et al. conclude that countries that spend more on R&D have more universities and ISI-indexed journals and produce a significant volume of research papers.

3.2. Analysis of Keywords and Co-Keywords

Figure 4 shows the frequency of the different keywords over time. Aspects related to “biomass” and its different variants and concepts such as “biodiversity” reflect permanent growth. Terms related to climate change factors, such as land use change, deforestation, and degradation, are another group of terms identified in the corpus. Keywords associated with renewable fuels reflect their growth in importance over the last 15 years. Finally, terms such as “sustainability” and “life cycle assessment” show less growth. However, these latter terms have a direct cross-cutting relationship with most of the topics analyzed and are fundamental concepts for compliance with Sustainable Development Goals.
The analysis of the second body is based on the frequency of the relevant words used by the authors during the period described (Figure 5). These words are directly related to the bioeconomy sectors developed in Latin America and the Caribbean. Some keywords appear exponentially as “biofuels” or “biogas”, which shows the growing sensitivity of the academic environment towards renewable energy as the most important bioeconomy sector that has been established in this region.
For the purposes of this study, “biomass production” includes other sectors of the bioeconomy (e.g., biocosmetics, biopharmaceuticals) which do not have the same relevance and scientific production compared with biofuels.
Interestingly, terms such as “bioethics” appear with greater frequency from 2006 to 2016 as part of the glossary used by the authors, demonstrating the importance of including moral principles and values in all scientific research. It emphasizes the balance to be struck between ethical principles, technological possibilities, and several conflicting human needs, such as producing food and, in particular, renewable energy based on first-generation biofuels [48].
Finally, the term “REDD” appears with minority participation, although it is a relevant concept for the sustainable management of ecosystems, especially for developing countries such as those in the Latin America and Caribbean region.

3.3. Clustering of Research Topics Based on Co-Occurrence of Keywords

As mentioned in the previous sections, there have been significant changes in the research area in recent years. For this reason, a co-occurrence-based analysis was carried out in the VOSviewer software between the years 2015 and 2020. Figure 6 shows a summary of the results obtained.
The analysis performed makes it possible to differentiate eight-dimensional coordinate clusters. These clusters are interconnected and have different levels of importance according to the number of items they contain.
The largest cluster in terms of word number includes Agriculture and Soil Research (No. 1, shown by red color). In this cluster, soil management and soil properties are key factors for agriculture productivity. The same applies to biomass production systems, which deal with the use of agricultural land for bioenergy production. In terms of the relationship between sustainability and agriculture, the cluster contains important keywords such as conservative, sustainable, and functional diversity.
The second cluster, indicated by green color (No. 2) consists of 37 items, most of which are related to factors that affect climate change. This cluster highlights the relationship between biomass production strategies, particularly in the context of bioenergy and the impact of climate change.
The third cluster (No. 3, colored blue) deals with diversity and conservation aspects, including important ecosystems located in Latin America and the Caribbean, where high biodiversity indicators are one of the main features. The fourth cluster, shown in yellow, represents the different aspects of bioremediation, highlighting the current techniques used and how they are linked to sustainable agriculture and ecological restoration.
The fifth and sixth clusters are the highest in terms of word frequency and group the most related bioeconomy keywords. Containing a total of 64 words, these items focus on bioenergy and biofuel production as the most important bioeconomy sector developed in Latin American and Caribbean countries. The fifth cluster highlights the environmental impact and the life cycle assessment as evaluation methodologies for this type of model. Bioethics, food security, and COVID-19 appear in cluster six as relevant and topical issues.
The seventh cluster, marked in orange, refers to energy efficiency, the production of oilseeds, and concepts related to the sustainable development of the bioeconomy in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Finally, the eighth cluster brings together in a single word (“bioeconomy”) a holistic approach to the previous clusters and summarizes, in a few keywords, the concepts of biomass production (such as biofuels), which is considered the most important sector identified in the region in this study.
In conclusion, it can be said that the bioeconomic sectors developed in Latin America, according to the scientific articles evaluated in this research, are concentrated in the production of bioenergy. The backbone of the field studied is the production of various biofuels, with leading countries such as Brazil and Argentina, which are considered the largest producers in the region. Although other types of biomass production in LAC were included in the keyword search, no words or clusters were found in the results.

3.4. Mapping of Topic-Evolution

Figure 7 examines the evolution of the topic map of the main research directions in recent years. Among the motor themes, three basic directions can be observed: firstly, the growing importance of bioenergy as a general category, including biofuels and other types of renewable energy; secondly, biomass as a primary source for bioenergy production; and thirdly, climate change as a cross-cutting theme of the previous ones since it is directly related to the production of biofuels as a strategy to mitigate the climate impact of fossil fuels. No basic topics are reported in this period of the research.
According to Plaza-Delgado E. et al., an alternative to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels is the use of biomass as a source of energy, especially in the Latin American and Caribbean region, which has great potential due to its diverse sources of biomass [49]. The study by Bailis R. et al. points out that this region is a world leader in the production of biofuels, accounting for 27% of the world’s supply [50]. However, it is important to consider that the production of biofuels could mean an expansion of the production frontier, which poses a serious challenge to the region’s environment and biodiversity [51].
Finally, bioethics is still present as an emerging theme in the analysis; according to Gutierrez-Prieto, Hin the last thirty years, Bioethics, as a developing discipline, has obtained gradual and increasing worldwide recognition, not only for its novelty but also for the connection with the future research topics [39]. In the same vein, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics highlighted the ethical issues raised by current and future approaches to biofuel development, as global biofuel production indirectly has serious negative impacts on agricultural and food sustainability [52].
In conclusion, scientific research on the region’s bioeconomic sectors in the period 2015 to 2021 has focused on bioenergy as a fundamental strategy in both ways, on the one hand in relation to the production of biofuels as an energy source, and on the other as a transitional energy model for some Latin American and Caribbean countries.

4. Discussion

The results of the bibliometric analysis have highlighted the importance of biofuels as the most important sector of the bioeconomy developed in the Latin America and Caribbean countries evaluated. This finding is in support of the fact that the number of relevant publications in this area has been growing exponentially. Aydogan H. et al. pointed out that biofuels have been rapidly gaining prominence due to their continuous increase in economic value and, at the same time, less harmful effects on the environment [6,30,53].
According to the IICA study, by 2020 Brazil will be the world’s second-largest producer of liquid biofuels, with a 23 percent share, behind the United States [54]. On the other hand, Argentina has a significant share in world biodiesel production, with around 7 percent, followed by Thailand, Colombia, and Paraguay [55,56].
Our research has also highlighted the relationship between biofuels and land use, particularly the crops used as feedstock for their production, and their transversal link to the region’s ongoing concerns about food security and the sustainable development of such products. The World Bank’s 2008 Development Report of Agriculture Development notes that the major challenge for governments in developing countries, such as those in Latin America and the Caribbean, is to “implement regulations and to develop certification systems that reduce the environmental and food security risks of biofuel production” [57].
The sustainability of agricultural land use for biofuel production is one of the priority issues to be discussed in the future, given the importance of biofuels as a major sector in the region. According to UNCTAD, biofuels compete directly with existing arable and grazing land for food production [58]. Moreover, bioenergy crops can lead to agricultural expansion, competition for water, and threats to biodiversity, especially in rural LAC areas with high ecological and social vulnerability [59].
Climate change was another cluster identified within the keyword analysis that is directly related to biofuels. Jeswani H et al. [60] point out that biofuels do not exist in isolation and, like other production systems, have an impact on various ecosystem services such as land, water, and food. In addition, authors such as Prasad, S. et al. [61] point out that producing biofuels from biomass has the potential to promote sustainable development and mitigate climate change while providing socio-economic benefits.
In terms of scientific publications, Latin American and Caribbean countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Chile are among the top twenty countries in terms of scientific production over the last period. This reflects a positive evolution in the concentration of developing countries as producers of scientific publications, compared to previous years when developed countries such as the United States had a significant and majority participation. However, the research shows that in terms of the most relevant scientific journals, the majority of them are from European countries or the United States. The representativeness of journals from Latin American and Caribbean countries is very low, even though the topics covered are directly related to this region.
With regard to the other types of bioeconomy sectors based on the final products obtained from biomass, we did not find any significant scientific publications in the Latin American and Caribbean countries evaluated during the period under review. However, the region has a wide and diverse range of renewable natural resources that could provide the essential basis for the development of a competitive bioeconomy [62] and the production of innovative products with added bioeconomic value [63].
Within the clustering of research topics, we could identify important keywords such as ‘bioethics’, ‘food security’, and ‘COVID’, which are transversally related to the bioeconomy sectors and also represent current topics in the scientific fields. According to Woźniak E et al., the “COVID crisis may be the driving force for the global integration related to bioeconomy, especially in implementing the SGD goals, development of national and regional bioeconomy strategies, ensuring food security and protecting biodiversity” [64]. Regarding bioethics as an emerging term, several bibliographical references indicate its importance over time and its close relationship with bioeconomy sectors, especially those environmental and sustainable aspects that seek social agreements to support human well-being while preserving the natural environment [65].
Finally, the structural breakpoints in the research database have been able to indicate the importance of bioeconomy sectors over time. It is noteworthy that since 2013, several European countries, including Germany, Spain, and Finland, proposed major policies to develop their bioeconomy, followed by several public policy documents and research papers covering different aspects of bioeconomy in developing countries at local and national levels [66].

5. Conclusions

The study highlights the importance of biofuels as the most important bioeconomy sector developed in the Latin American and Caribbean countries evaluated. Brazil and Argentina are the region’s main producers and rank first in the world. Even though the region has a wide and diverse range of renewable natural resources, we were not able to find any significant scientific publications on other types of bioeconomy sectors that are based on the final products obtained from biomass.
Based on the co-occurrence keywords, our research has also shown the relationship between the eight identified clusters: (1) agriculture; (2) climate change; (3) diversity; (4) bioremediation; (5) bioenergy; (6) biofuels; (7) energy efficiency; and (8) bioeconomy. The first seven are linked to the region’s current concerns for food security and the sustainable development of bioenergy production, while the eighth relates to the holistic approach of the research. In terms of scientific production in recent years, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Chile are at the top positions. However, the research shows that the most relevant scientific journals belong to developed European countries or the United States.
In conclusion, in the LAC countries under review, there has been a significant increase in scientific production in relation to bioeconomy sectors over the last 15 years, with the main focus of research on biofuel production as the main source of bioenergy. The above results highlight the significant research gap on other types of innovative products with bioeconomic added value that could be generated in the region, given its immense biodiversity potential.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, Z.L. and M.L.O.O.; methodology, Z.L.; software, Z.L. and M.L.O.O.; validation, Z.L.; formal analysis, M.L.O.O.; investigation, M.L.O.O.; data curation, Z.L. and M.L.O.O.; writing—original draft preparation, M.L.O.O.; writing—review and editing, Z.L. and M.L.O.O.; supervision, Z.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to the intellectual property of the ISI enterprise.

Acknowledgments

The authors are particularly grateful to the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences for the outstanding informatics support in the access to different databases requested for this research article, as well as the use of statistical software, need it to analyze the data presented.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Appendix A

Statistical analysis completed by using “Gretl software” to corroborate the structural breakpoints established by the R-package of the main dataset and the historical records mentioned in Table 1.
Sustainability 15 05158 g0a1 550
Figure A1. Article year’s production of the main dataset (***: p ≤ 0.001).
Figure A1. Article year’s production of the main dataset (***: p ≤ 0.001).
Sustainability 15 05158 g0a1
Sustainability 15 05158 g0a2 550
Figure A2. Primary energy supply from renewable sources in Latin American and Caribbean countries. (***: p ≤ 0.001).
Figure A2. Primary energy supply from renewable sources in Latin American and Caribbean countries. (***: p ≤ 0.001).
Sustainability 15 05158 g0a2
Sustainability 15 05158 g0a3 550
Figure A3. Renewable share (modern renewables) in final energy consumption, word wide (***: p ≤ 0.001).
Figure A3. Renewable share (modern renewables) in final energy consumption, word wide (***: p ≤ 0.001).
Sustainability 15 05158 g0a3

References

  1. Global Bioeconomy Summit 2018. Communiqué Global Bioeconomy Summit 2018 Innovation in the Global Bioeconomy for Sustainable and Inclusive Transformation and Wellbeing. 2018. Available online: http://gbs2018.com/resources/ (accessed on 5 May 2022).
  2. Hodson De Jaramillo, E.; Henry, G.; Trigo, E. Bioeconomy New Framework for Sustainable Growth in Latin America; Editorial Pontificia Universidad Javeriana: Bogota, Colombia, 2019. [Google Scholar]
  3. Papadopoulou, C.-I.; Loizou, E.; Melfou, K.; Chatzitheodoridis, F. The knowledge based agricultural bioeconomy: A bibliometric network analysis. Energies 2021, 14, 6823. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  4. Perišić, M.; Barceló, E.; Dimic-Misic, K.; Imani, M.; Brkić, V.S. The Role of Bioeconomy in the Future Energy Scenario: A State-of-the-Art Review. Sustainability 2022, 14, 560. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  5. European Commission. Mainstreaming the Bioeconomy. EU Rural Review. 2019. Available online: https://enrd.ec.europa.eu (accessed on 25 May 2022).
  6. Dorokhina, E.Y.; Kharchenko, S.G. Business models of the circular economy as mechanism of sustainable development achievement. Ecol. Ind. Russ. 2017, 21, 58–61. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  7. Linser, S.; Lier, M. The Contribution of Sustainable Development Goals and Forest-Related Indicators to National Bioeconomy Progress Monitoring. Sustainability 2020, 12, 2898. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
  8. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Assessing the Contribution of Bioeconomy to Countries Economy. 2018. Available online: www.fao.org/publications (accessed on 25 May 2022).
  9. Diemer, A.; Batisse, C.; Gladkykh, G.; Bennich, T. Role of Bioeconomy in the Achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. In Partnerships for the Goals: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals; Leal Filho, W., Marisa Azul, A., Brandli, L., Lange Salvia, A., Wall, T., Eds.; Springer: Cham, Switzerland, 2021; pp. 1054–1067. [Google Scholar]
  10. Heimann, T. Bioeconomy and SDGs: Does the Bioeconomy Support the Achievement of the SDGs? Earths Future 2019, 7, 43–57. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
  11. D’Adamo, I.; Gastaldi, M.; Morone, P.; Rosa, P.; Sassanelli, C.; Settembre-Blundo, D.; Shen, Y. Bioeconomy of Sustainability: Drivers, Opportunities and Policy Implications. Sustainability 2021, 14, 200. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  12. Gawel, E.; Pannicke, N.; Hagemann, N. A Path Transition Towards a Bioeconomy—The Crucial Role of Sustainability. Sustainability 2019, 11, 3005. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
  13. Bracco, S.; Calicioglu, O.; Gomez San Juan, M.; Flammini, A. Assessing the Contribution of Bioeconomy to the Total Economy: A Review of National Frameworks. Sustainability 2018, 10, 1698. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
  14. Olivier, D.; Martha, G.S.J. How Sustainability Is Addressed in Official Bioeconomy Strategies at International, National, and Regional Leveles—An Overview. 2016. Available online: https://landportal.org/node/50172 (accessed on 7 March 2023).
  15. Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. National Policy Strategy on Bioeconomy. 2014. Available online: www.bmel.de (accessed on 7 March 2023).
  16. Iriarte, L. Sustainability Governance of Bioenergy and the Broader Bioeconomy; IINAS—International Institute for Sustainability Analysis and Strategy: Pamplona, Spain, 2021. [Google Scholar]
  17. Delzeit, R.; Heimann, T.; Schuenemann, F.; Söder, M.; Zabel, F.; Hosseini, M. Scenarios for an impact assessment of global bioeconomy strategies: Results from a co-design process. Res. Glob. 2021, 3, 100060. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  18. Schröder, P.; Albaladejo, M.; Ribas, A.; Macewen, M.; Tilkanen, J. The Circular Economy in Latin America and the Caribbean Opportunities for Building Resilience; Chatham House: London, UK, 2020. [Google Scholar]
  19. Boeri, P.; Piñuel, L.; Dalzotto, D.; Sharry, S. Native Biodiversity: A Strategic Resource to Accelerate Bioeconomy Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. In Agricultural, Forestry and Bioindustry Biotechnology and Biodiscovery; Springer: Cham, Switzerland, 2020; pp. 163–174. [Google Scholar]
  20. Interamerican Institute for Agriculture Cooperation. The Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas: A Perspective on Latin America and the Caribbean. 2019. Available online: www.fao.org/americas (accessed on 26 May 2022).
  21. Sasson, A.; Malpica, C. Bioeconomy in Latin America. New Biotechnol. 2018, 40, 40–45. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  22. Rodríguez, A.G.; Mondaini, A.O.; Hitschfeld, M.A. Bioeconomía en América Latina y el Caribe Contexto Global y Regional y Perspectivas; Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean: Santiago, Chile, 2017. [Google Scholar]
  23. Trigo, E.J.; Henry, G.; Sanders, J.; Schurr, U.; Ingelbrecht, I.; Revell, C.; Santana, C.; Rocha, P. Towards a Latin America and Caribbean Knowledge Based Bio-Economy in Partnership with Europe towards Bioeconomy Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. 2013. Available online: www.bioeconomy-alcue.org (accessed on 26 May 2022).
  24. Chavarría, H.; Trigo, E.; Martínez, J.F. Policies and Business for the Bioeconomy in LAC: An Ongoing Process. 2021. Available online: https://www.uco.es/ucopress/ojs/index.php/bioeconomy/article/download/13150/11977/v (accessed on 26 May 2022).
  25. Steedman, J. Longitudinal Survey Research into Progress in Secondary Schools, Based on the National Child Development Study. In Doing Sociology of Education, 1st ed.; Walford, G., Ed.; Routledge: Oxford, UK, 2014; pp. 177–213. [Google Scholar]
  26. Jarmasz, M.; Szpakowicz, S. Roget’s Thesaurus: A Lexical Resource to Treasure. arXiv 2012, arXiv:1204.0258. [Google Scholar]
  27. Zeileis, A.; Leisch, F.; Hornik, K.; Kleiber, C. strucchange: An R Package for Testing for Structural Change in Linear Regression Models. J. Stadistical. Softw. 2002, 7, 1–38. Available online: http://www.R-project.org/ (accessed on 27 May 2022). [CrossRef] [Green Version]
  28. Baiocchi, G.; Distaso, W. GRETL: Econometric Software for the GNU Generation. J. Appl. Econom. 2003, 18, 105–110. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  29. International Renewable Energy Agency. Renewable Energy Financial Flows. 2019. Available online: https://www.irena.org/Data/View-data-by-topic/Finance-and-Investment/Renewable-Energy-Finance-Flows (accessed on 27 May 2022).
  30. Aydogan, H.; Hirz, M.; Brunner, H. The use and future of biofuels alternative propulsion technologies, new mobility concepts. Int. J. Soc. Sci. 2014, 3, 1–10. Available online: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278300294 (accessed on 27 May 2022).
  31. IAE. Energy Statistics Data Browser. 2022. Available online: https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-tools/energy-statistics-data-browser?country=WORLD&fuel=Renewables%20and%20waste&indicator=SDG72modern (accessed on 23 September 2022).
  32. Pistonesi, H.; Nadal, G.; Bravo, V.; Bouille, D. The Contribution of Biofuels to the Sustainability of Development in Latin America and the Caribbean: Elements for Formulating Public Policy; Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean: Santiago, Chile, 2008. [Google Scholar]
  33. CEPALSTAT. Primary Energy Supply from Renewable (Combustible and Non-Combustible) and Non-Renewable Sources by Energy Resource. 2020. Available online: https://statistics.cepal.org/portal/cepalstat/dashboard.html?theme=3&lang=en (accessed on 20 May 2022).
  34. Mougenot, B.; Doussoulin, J.P. Conceptual evolution of the bioeconomy: A bibliometric analysis. Environ. Dev. Sustain. 2022, 24, 1031–1047. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  35. Staffas, L.; Gustavsson, M.; McCormick, K. Strategies and policies for the bioeconomy and bio-based economy: An analysis of official national approaches. Sustainability 2013, 5, 2751–2769. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
  36. Dervis, H. Bibliometric analysis using bibliometrix an R package. J. Sci. Res. 2019, 8, 156–160. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  37. Aria, M.; Cuccurullo, C. Bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis. J. Informetr. 2017, 11, 959–975. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  38. Van Eck, N.J.; Waltman, L. Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics 2010, 84, 523–538. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
  39. Moral-Muñoz, J.A.; Herrera-Viedma, E.; Santisteban-Espejo, A.; Cobo, M.J. Software tools for conducting bibliometric analysis in science: An up-to-date review. Prof. Inf. 2020, 29, e290103. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
  40. Lakner, Z.; Plasek, B.; Kasza, G.; Kiss, A.; Soós, S.; Temesi, Á. Towards understanding the food consumer behavior—Food safety—Sustainability triangle: A bibliometric approach. Sustainability 2021, 13, 12218. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  41. Mulet-Forteza, C.; Martorell-Cunill, O.; Merigó, J.M.; Genovart-Balaguer, J.; Mauleon-Mendez, E. Twenty five years of the Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing: A bibliometric ranking. J. Travel Tour. Mark. 2018, 35, 1201–1221. [Google Scholar]
  42. Rajeswari, S.; Saravanan, P.; Kumaraguru, K.; Jaya, N.; Rajeshkannan, R.; Rajasimman, M. The scientometric evaluation on the research of biodiesel based on HistCite and VOSviewer (1993–2019). Biomass Convers. Biorefin. 2021. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  43. OECD and SCImago Research Group. Compendium of Bibliometric Science Indicators. 2016. Available online: https://lostandtaken.com/ (accessed on 27 September 2022).
  44. Gonzalez-Brambila, C.N.; Reyes-Gonzalez, L.; Veloso, F.; Perez-Angón, M.A. The Scientific Impact of Developing Nations. PLoS ONE 2016, 11, e0151328. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
  45. UNESCO. Global Investments in R&D A Snapshot of R&D Expenditure. 2020. Available online: http://uis.unesco.org (accessed on 15 February 2023).
  46. Prodan, I. Influence of Research and Development Expenditures on Number of Patent Applications: Selected Cases Studies in OECD Countries and Central Europe, 1981–2001. Appl. Econom. Int. Dev. 2005, 5, 5–22. [Google Scholar]
  47. Meo, S.A.; Al Masri, A.A.; Usmani, A.M.; Memon, A.N.; Zaidi, S.Z. Impact of GDP, Spending on R&D, Number of Universities and Scientific Journals on Research Publications among Asian Countries. PLoS ONE 2013, 8, e66449. [Google Scholar]
  48. Gutiérrez-Prieto, H. Bioethics and Ecology: Towards “Sustainable Bioethics”. Vniversitas 2008, 117, 275–294. Available online: http://www.wwf.org (accessed on 27 May 2022).
  49. Delgado-Plaza, E.; Carrillo, A.; Valdés, H.; Odobez, N.; Peralta-Jaramillo, J.; Jaramillo, D.; Reinoso-Tigre, J.; Nuñez, V.; Garcia, J.; Reyes-Plascencia, C.; et al. Key Processes for the Energy Use of Biomass in Rural Sectors of Latin America. Sustainability 2022, 15, 169. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  50. Bailis, R.; Solomon, B.D.; Moser, C.; Hildebrandt, T. Biofuel sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean—A review of recent experiences and future prospects. Biofuels 2014, 5, 469–485. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  51. Ludena, C. Biofuels Potential in Latin America and the Caribbean: Quantitative Considerations and Policy Implications for the Agricultural Sector. 2005. Available online: http://ageconsearch.umn.edu (accessed on 7 March 2023).
  52. Nuffield Council on Bioethics. Biofuels: Ethical Issues. Nuffield Council on Bioethics. 2011. Available online: https://www.nuffieldbioethics.org/assets/pdfs/Biofuels_ethical_issues_A5_Guide.pdf (accessed on 2 October 2022).
  53. Subramaniam, Y.; Masron, T.A. The impact of economic globalization on biofuel in developing countries. Energy Convers. Manag. X 2021, 10, 100064. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  54. Torroba, A. Atlas de los Biocombustibles Líquidos; Interamerican Institute for Agriculture Cooperation: San Jose, CA, USA, 2020. [Google Scholar]
  55. CEPAL. Brazil, Argentina and Colombia Lead Biofuels Production in the Region; CEPAL: Santiago, Chile, 2011. [Google Scholar]
  56. OECD. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Biofuels: OCDE-FAO Agricultural Perspectives 2020–2029; OECD: Paris, France, 2021. [Google Scholar]
  57. Falck-Zepeda, J.; Mangi, S.; Sulser, T.; Zambrano, P.; Falconí, C. Biofuels and Rural Development in Latin America and the Caribbean; Cooperative Programme FAO: Rome, Italy, 2010. [Google Scholar]
  58. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Biofuels Controversy. 2007. Available online: https://unctad.org (accessed on 15 February 2023).
  59. Castiblanco Rozo, C.; Hortúa Romero, S. Biofuels’ Energetic Paradigm and Its Implications: A Global Overview and the Colombian case. Environment and Development. 2012. Available online: https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/gestion/article/view/33718 (accessed on 15 February 2023).
  60. Jeswani, H.K.; Chilvers, A.; Azapagic, A. Environmental sustainability of biofuels: A review. Proc. Math. Phys. Eng. Sci. 2020, 476, 20200351. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  61. Prasad, S.; Yadav, A.N.; Singh, A. Impact of Climate Change on Sustainable Biofuel Production. In Biofuels Production—Sustainability and Advances in Microbial Bioresources; Yadav, A.N., Rastegari, A.A., Yadav, N., Gaur, R., Eds.; Springer: Cham, Switzerland, 2020; pp. 79–97. [Google Scholar]
  62. Bucaram-Villacis, S.; Trabacchi, C.; Schneider, D.A.C.M.E.N.; Watson, G. A Call for an Integrated Framework for the Bioeconomy in Latin America and the Caribbean Region. Available online: https://blogs.iadb.org/sostenibilidad/en/a-call-for-an-integrated-framework-for-the-bioeconomy-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-region/ (accessed on 1 January 2023).
  63. Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura. Bioeconomía: Potencial y Retos para su Aprovechamiento en America Latina y el Caribe; Chavarria, H., Blanco, M., Eds.; IICA: San José, CA, USA, 2020; Available online: http://www.iica.int (accessed on 29 May 2022).
  64. Woźniak, E.; Tyczewska, A. Bioeconomy during the COVID-19 and perspectives for the post-pandemic world: Example from EU. EFB Bioecon. J. 2021, 1, 100013. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  65. Barañano, L.; Garbisu, N.; Alkorta, I.; Araujo, A.; Garbisu, C. Contextualization of the bioeconomy concept through its links with related concepts and the challenges facing humanity. Sustainability 2021, 13, 7746. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  66. Rodríguez, A.G.; Rodrigues, M.; Sotomayor, O. Hacia una Bioeconomía Sostenible en América Latina y el Caribe Elementos para una Visión Regional. 2003. Available online: www.cepal.org/apps (accessed on 1 January 2023).
Sustainability 15 05158 g001 550
Figure 1. Flowchart of the research.
Figure 1. Flowchart of the research.
Sustainability 15 05158 g001
Sustainability 15 05158 g002 550
Figure 2. Scientific publications between 1977 and 2021 related to bioeconomy sectors developed in Latin America and Caribbean region.
Figure 2. Scientific publications between 1977 and 2021 related to bioeconomy sectors developed in Latin America and Caribbean region.
Sustainability 15 05158 g002
Sustainability 15 05158 g003 550
Figure 3. Temporal changes in the spatial distribution of bioeconomy-related publications measured by countries’ production percentage (Map created in R with base map courtesy of OpenStreetMap).
Figure 3. Temporal changes in the spatial distribution of bioeconomy-related publications measured by countries’ production percentage (Map created in R with base map courtesy of OpenStreetMap).
Sustainability 15 05158 g003
Sustainability 15 05158 g004 550
Figure 4. Frequency of occurrences of keywords on the corpus “−1”.
Figure 4. Frequency of occurrences of keywords on the corpus “−1”.
Sustainability 15 05158 g004
Sustainability 15 05158 g005 550
Figure 5. Frequency of occurrences of specific authors’ keywords relevant to the corpus “ −2”.
Figure 5. Frequency of occurrences of specific authors’ keywords relevant to the corpus “ −2”.
Sustainability 15 05158 g005
Sustainability 15 05158 g006 550
Figure 6. Key clusters of bioeconomy sectors developed in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Figure 6. Key clusters of bioeconomy sectors developed in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Sustainability 15 05158 g006
Sustainability 15 05158 g007 550
Figure 7. Science map of research topics from 2015 to 2021.
Figure 7. Science map of research topics from 2015 to 2021.
Sustainability 15 05158 g007
Table
Table 1. Historical records of three different variables which support the breakpoints established in the study.
Table 1. Historical records of three different variables which support the breakpoints established in the study.
Milestones YearsPublic Investment in Bioenergy Sector
(Million Dollars)		Renewable Share (Modern Renewables) in Final Energy Consumption (Percentage)Primary Energy Supply from Clean Renewable Sources in LAC and the Caribbean
(Thousands of Barrels of Oil Equivalent)
Up to 200013.246.86431,710.1
2001–2007126.527.48551,923.1
2008–201476829.04650,628.1
2015–20214046.4810.88740,115.5
Table
Table 2. Software tools applied to the corpus for statistical analysis.
Table 2. Software tools applied to the corpus for statistical analysis.
Type of SoftwareType of Statistical Analysis
Gretl econometric software
  • Econometric analysis of the structural break points of the main dataset base based on the article’s years of production.
Bibliometric (biblioshiny)
  • Yearly academic production.
  • Most relevant sources in the field of Bioeconomy in relation to the Latin America and Caribbean region.
  • Evolution of authors’ keywords in the bioeconomy literature [41].
VOSviewer
  • Co-occurrence of different keywords and expressions applying a combination of clusters in the four periods to analyze [42].
Table
Table 3. The cumulative share of the top 15 countries in publications with corresponding authors’ contribution to bioeconomy sectors (countries indicated by 3-digit ISO codes).
Table 3. The cumulative share of the top 15 countries in publications with corresponding authors’ contribution to bioeconomy sectors (countries indicated by 3-digit ISO codes).
1977–20002001–20072008–20142015–2021
CountryCum. Share of Publications
(%)		CountryCum. Share of Publications
(%)		CountryCum. Share of Publications
(%)		CountryCum. Share of Publications
(%)
USA0.28USA0.24BRA0.37BRA0.42
BRA0.44BRA0.46USA0.52MEX0.54
MEX0.57MEX0.57MEX0.61USA0.63
ARG0.68ARG0.68ARG0.70ARG0.69
CHL0.74CHL0.74CHL0.76CHL0.74
DEU0.78DEU0.79COL0.79COL0.79
GBR0.81GBR0.80DEU0.81DEU0.81
FRA0.84CAN0.82GBR0.82CHN0.83
CAN0.85CUB0.83ESP0.84GBR0.84
CRI0.86FRA0.85FRA0.85ESP0.86
COL0.88ESP0.86CHN0.87CRI0.87
NLD0.89COL0.88CAN0.88IND0.88
ESP0.90AUT0.89NTD0.89NTD0.89
IND0.91CRI0.90IND0.90URY0.90
AUT0.92ITA0.90CRI0.91CUB0.91
Table
Table 4. The 14 most relevant academic journals in the 4 periods evaluated in the field of bioeconomy sectors in the Latin America and Caribbean region.
Table 4. The 14 most relevant academic journals in the 4 periods evaluated in the field of bioeconomy sectors in the Latin America and Caribbean region.
1977–20002001–20072008–2014 2015–2021
Name JournalCountryName JournalCountryName JournalCountryName JournalCountry
Journal of Geophysical Research-AtmospheresUSAForest Ecology and ManagementNLDForest Ecology and ManagementNLDJournal of Cleaner ProductionUK
HydrobiologiaNLDJournal of Geophysical Research-AtmospheresUSAAtmospheric Chemistry and PhysicsDEUForest Ecology and ManagementNLD
Marine Ecology Progress SeriesDEUHydrobiologiaNLDRevista Brasileira de Ciencia do SoloBRAPlos OneUSA
Revista de Biologia TropicalCRIMarine Ecology Progress SeriesDEUBiomass and BioenergyUKRenewable and Sustainable Energy ReviewsUK
Forest Ecology and ManagementNLDRevista de Biologia TropicalCRIEnergy PolicyUKScience of the Total EnvironmentNLD
Pesquisa Agropecuaria BrasileiraBRARevista Brasileira de Ciencia do SoloBRAPlos OneUSABiomass and BioenergyUK
BiotropicaUSAAtmospheric EnvironmentUKRevista de Biologia TropicalCRIIndustrial Crops and ProductsNLD
OecologiaUSAEcological ApplicationsUSARenewable and Sustainable Energy ReviewsUKRenewable EnergyUK
Revista Chilena de Historia NaturalCHLBiotropicaUSAHydrobiologiaNLDRemote SensingUSA
Plant And SoilNDLEcological ModelingNLDBrazilian Journal of BiologyBRASustainabilityCHE
Journal of Range ManagementUSAPlant And SoilNLDLatin American Journal of Aquatic ResearchCHIEnvironmental Science and Pollution ResearchDEU
Journal of Tropical EcologyUKField Crops ResearchNLDAtmospheric EnvironmentUKForestsCHE
Field Crops ResearchNDLJournal ff Arid EnvironmentsUSAPesquisa Agropecuaria BrasileiraBRARevista de Biologia TropicalCRI
Soil Biology and BiochemistryUKGlobal Change BiologyUKPlant And SoilNLDFuelNLD
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Ordoñez Olivo, M.L.; Lakner, Z. Shaping the Knowledge Base of Bioeconomy Sectors Development in Latin American and Caribbean Countries: A Bibliometric Analysis. Sustainability 2023, 15, 5158. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065158

AMA Style

Ordoñez Olivo ML, Lakner Z. Shaping the Knowledge Base of Bioeconomy Sectors Development in Latin American and Caribbean Countries: A Bibliometric Analysis. Sustainability. 2023; 15(6):5158. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065158

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ordoñez Olivo, Maria Lourdes, and Zoltán Lakner. 2023. "Shaping the Knowledge Base of Bioeconomy Sectors Development in Latin American and Caribbean Countries: A Bibliometric Analysis" Sustainability 15, no. 6: 5158. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065158

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop