The top-cited wetland articles in science citation index expanded: characteristics and hotspots

Abstract

The characteristics of wetland research were investigated by a bibliometric analysis of the top-cited wetland-related articles since 1899 based on the Science Citation Index Expanded database. The analyzed aspects included the distribution of journals, and publications by country, institution, and author, with five indicators including total articles, and independent, collaborative, first-author, and corresponding-author articles. Results showed that 188 articles on wetlands have been cited at least 100 times since their publication year to 2011. The most productive stage was 1991–2000, accounting for approximately seven-tenths of the top-cited articles. The US was the leading country, followed distantly by 25 other countries/territories. The US also held primacy in terms of productive institutions. The US Geological Survey ranked first according to the five indicators. The 188 top-cited articles had 637 authors, among whom W.J. Mitsch published the most first-author and corresponding-author articles. Furthermore, substance circulation (especially of carbon), wetland organisms and vegetation, and modeling methodology were the main focuses of wetland research in the past few years. In 2011, wetland organisms and vegetation were the hottest research topics. These results were coincident with a previous study on total publications, and revealed more-specific characteristics and hotspots of wetland research.