Fifty years of research on South American drylands: Mapping the scientific contributions of the Argentine Institute for Dryland Research

SOLANA TABENI; FLORENCIA MIGUEL; DIEGO VAZQUEZ; YASMIN BOBADILLA; ANDREA TARQUINO CARBONELL; VANINA EGEA; AGUSTINA A OJEDA

ECOLOGÍA AUSTRAL

ASOCIACIÓN ARGENTINA DE ECOLOGÍA

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2024

0327-5477

A􀑏􀑠􀑡􀑟􀑎􀑐􀑡. Dryland ecosystems are among the most widespread biomes on Earth and sustain nearly 40% of theglobal human population. Knowledge on drylands throughout the world has come from diverse disciplinaryfields including natural and social sciences. The use of quantitative tools, such as science mapping or bibliometricanalysis, may help to explore the structure of knowledge and to identify emerging issues. Here, we analyzedthe dynamics of scientific production on dryland ecosystems throughout fifty years since the creation of theArgentine Institute for Dryland Research (IADIZA). We focused on IADIZA as a case study because it is oneof the oldest dryland research institutions in South America whose contributions may exemplify researchtrajectories in drylands. We conducted a systematic search in Scopus for the 1972-2022 period, complementedwith the institute’s records, which resulted in 1828 publications. We identified 48 research themes studied atIADIZA. The diversity of themes has increased through time, moving from the early descriptive studies ofspecies and communities to the current focus on pa􀄴erns and processes. From 2000 to the present, we detecteda remarkable incorporation of new concepts, indicating that the conservation and management of naturalresources, the systematics and taxonomy of species and ecological interactions constitute the central researchthemes, along with emerging themes such as genetics, evolution and urban ecology. In conclusion, our synthesisoffers a clear description of the dynamics of research themes in the study of drylands and indicates a growinginternational interest in IADIZA’s contributions to dryland functioning.