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

Dryland ecosystems are among the most widespread biomes on Earth and sustain nearly 40% of the global human population. Knowledge on drylands throughout the world has come from diverse disciplinary fields including natural and social sciences. The use of quantitative tools, such as science mapping or bibliometric analysis, may help to explore the structure of knowledge and to identify emerging issues. Here, we analyzed the dynamics of scientific production on dryland ecosystems throughout fifty years since the creation of the Argentine Institute for Dryland Research (IADIZA). We focused on IADIZA as a case study because it is one of the oldest dryland research institutions in South America whose contributions may exemplify research trajectories in drylands. We conducted a systematic search in Scopus for the 1972-2022 period, complemented with the institute’s records, which resulted in 1828 publications. We identified 48 research themes studied at IADIZA. The diversity of themes has increased through time, moving from the early descriptive studies of species and communities to the current focus on pa erns and processes. From 2000 to the present, we detected a remarkable incorporation of new concepts, indicating that the conservation and management of natural resources, the systematics and taxonomy of species and ecological interactions constitute the central research themes, along with emerging themes such as genetics, evolution and urban ecology. In conclusion, our synthesis offers a clear description of the dynamics of research themes in the study of drylands and indicates a growing international interest in IADIZA’s contributions to dryland functioning.