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Research facility · Edinburgh · United Kingdom

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

In research, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh stands highest in Life Sciences (#1,452 of 6,403 worldwide) and Agricultural and Biological Sciences (#1,301 of 3,157 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Agricultural and Biological Sciences and Plant Science (Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics is 66.4× its share of world research).

rbge.org.ukROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#12,482
of 22,385 · #7,379 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#413
of 862
Research works
1.7k
▲ 4% vs 2018-21
Citations
39k
22.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
7.9%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
1.09×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
56%
world 40%
International
34%
world 18%
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

What is Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022-now, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Life SciencesDomain #1,452 of 6,403 7.5%143 #1967
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #1,301 of 3,157 7.5%105 #1095

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which fields of science does Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh work in?

In 2022-now, 73% of research at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is in Life Sciences, 21% in Physical Sciences. Its largest fields are Agricultural and Biological Sciences (53%), Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (18%), Environmental Science (14%). It does 5.1× the world's share of Life Sciences.

Life Sciences: 180 fractional works · 72.7% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 131 fractional works · 53.1% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 77 fractional works · 31.1% of its workPlant Science: 45 fractional works · 18.1% of its workInsect Science: 3 fractional works · 1.2% of its workForestry: 3 fractional works · 1.1% of its workFood Science: 2 fractional works · 0.9% of its workSoil Science: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 45 fractional works · 18.2% of its workMolecular Biology: 34 fractional works · 13.9% of its workGenetics: 6 fractional works · 2.5% of its workCell Biology: 4 fractional works · 1.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 3 fractional works · 1.3% of its workPharmacology: 3 fractional works · 1.3% of its workNeuroscience: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workPhysical Sciences: 52 fractional works · 21.0% of its workEnvironmental Science: 35 fractional works · 14.3% of its workEcology: 10 fractional works · 4.0% of its workEcological Modeling: 7 fractional works · 3.0% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 7 fractional works · 2.7% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 7 fractional works · 2.7% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 2 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnvironmental Chemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 8 fractional works · 3.3% of its workOceanography: 3 fractional works · 1.3% of its workPaleontology: 3 fractional works · 1.1% of its workAtmospheric Science: 2 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workComputer Science: 3 fractional works · 1.3% of its workInformation Systems: 2 fractional works · 0.7% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workChemistry: 2 fractional works · 0.9% of its workOrganic Chemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workAnalytical Chemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMaterials Science: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workBiomaterials: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEngineering: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMathematics: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSocial Sciences: 13 fractional works · 5.1% of its workSocial Sciences: 4 fractional works · 1.8% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workAnthropology: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workGeography, Planning and Development: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSociology and Political Science: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPsychology: 3 fractional works · 1.2% of its workSocial Psychology: 3 fractional works · 1.2% of its workArts and Humanities: 2 fractional works · 1.0% of its workHistory: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPhilosophy: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workDecision Sciences: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workManagement Information Systems: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workHealth Sciences: 3 fractional works · 1.1% of its workMedicine: 2 fractional works · 1.0% of its workPharmacology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workComplementary and alternative medicine: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workNursing: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Professions: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workALL ITS WORKRoyal BotanicGarden Edinburgh247fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences73%Physical Sciences21%Health Sciences1%Social Sciences5%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 21 fields, with their numbers
    1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences13153.1%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4518.2%
    3. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics31.3%
    4. Neuroscience00.1%
    5. Immunology and Microbiology00.0%
    1. Environmental Science3514.3%
    2. Earth and Planetary Sciences83.3%
    3. Computer Science31.3%
    4. Chemistry20.9%
    5. Materials Science10.6%
    6. Engineering10.4%
    7. Mathematics00.2%
    1. Social Sciences41.8%
    2. Psychology31.2%
    3. Arts and Humanities21.0%
    4. Decision Sciences10.4%
    5. Economics, Econometrics and Finance10.4%
    6. Business, Management and Accounting10.4%
    1. Medicine21.0%
    2. Nursing00.1%
    3. Health Professions00.0%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics takes 66.4× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsSubfield · 77.0 works66×
  2. Agricultural and Biological SciencesField · 131.3 works11×
  3. Plant ScienceSubfield · 44.7 works10×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 11.18× its world share, 131 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 3.42× its world share, 45 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.06× its world share, 0 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 3.61× its world share, 3 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemistry: 0.60× its world share, 2 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.17× its world share, 3 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.13× its world share, 8 worksEarth and Planetary …Engineering: 0.03× its world share, 1 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 2.87× its world share, 35 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.17× its world share, 1 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.14× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsHealth Professions: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.05× its world share, 2 worksMedicineNursing: 0.22× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 0.35× its world share, 2 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.12× its world share, 1 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.40× its world share, 1 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.18× its world share, 1 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.39× its world share, 3 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.14× its world share, 4 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Agricultural and Biological Sciences, 11.2×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 21 fields, with their numbers
  1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences11.18×131 works
  2. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics3.61×3 works
  3. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology3.42×45 works
  4. Environmental Science2.87×35 works
  5. Earth and Planetary Sciences2.13×8 works
  6. Chemistry0.60×2 works
  7. Decision Sciences0.40×1 works
  8. Psychology0.39×3 works
  9. Arts and Humanities0.35×2 works
  10. Nursing0.22×0 works
  11. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.18×1 works
  12. Computer Science0.17×3 works
  13. Materials Science0.17×1 works
  14. Mathematics0.14×0 works
  15. Social Sciences0.14×4 works
  16. Business, Management and Accounting0.12×1 works
  17. Neuroscience0.06×0 works
  18. Medicine0.05×2 works
  19. Immunology and Microbiology0.03×0 works
  20. Engineering0.03×1 works
  21. Health Professions0.01×0 works

Who are the top researchers at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh?

Ranked on the quality score, R. Toby Pennington, Tiina Särkinen and Hugo F. Mogollón lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

  1. 1 R. Toby Pennington United Kingdom · #18,284 worldwide 22k citations · 299 works
  2. 2 Tiina Särkinen United Kingdom · #110,221 worldwide 8.4k citations · 104 works
  3. 3 Hugo F. Mogollón United Kingdom · #127,543 worldwide 3.3k citations · 42 works
  4. 4 David J. Harris United Kingdom · #145,413 worldwide 11k citations · 175 works
  5. 5 Peter M. Hollingsworth United Kingdom · #168,243 worldwide 26k citations · 254 works
  6. 6 Edeline Gagnon United Kingdom · #181,361 worldwide 2.8k citations · 86 works
  7. 7 Antje Ahrends United Kingdom · #200,833 worldwide 3.4k citations · 50 works
  8. 8 Axel Dalberg Poulsen United Kingdom · #213,548 worldwide 6.7k citations · 140 works
  9. 9 James Alexander Ratter United Kingdom · #405,536 worldwide 7.6k citations · 82 works
  10. 10 James Edward Richardson United Kingdom · #442,424 worldwide 14k citations · 206 works
All ranked researchers at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

What are the most cited papers from Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh?

The most cited paper from Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is "Nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region as a universal DNA barcode marker for Fungi" (Conrad L. Schoch et al., 2012), with 5,240 citations. Next come "A DNA barcode for land plants" (2,867) and "Glossary of pollen and spore terminology" (2,574).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region as a universal DNA barcode marker for Fungi Conrad L. Schoch et al. · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open access156 authors 27 Mar 2012 5,240
2 A DNA barcode for land plants CBOL Plant Working Group1 et al. · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open access 4 Aug 2009 2,867
3 Glossary of pollen and spore terminology W. Punt, P.P. Hoen, Stephen Blackmore et al. · Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 29 Nov 2006 2,574
4 A higher-level phylogenetic classification of the Fungi David S. Hibbett et al. · Mycological Research Open access 18 Apr 2007 2,413
5 Hybridization and speciation Richard J. Abbott et al. · Journal of Evolutionary Biology Open access 17 Jan 2013 2,316
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Biogeography, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Invasive Species, Taxonomy, Molecular Phylogeny, Phylogeny and Phylogenetic Analysis.

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's

Size is fractional works in 2022-now in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Biogeography81▲ 117×14 topics
  2. Climate Change44▲ 6.6×45 topics
  3. Biodiversity42▲ 22×19 topics
  4. Invasive Species34▲ 32×15 topics
  5. Taxonomy33▲ 93×7 topics
  6. Molecular Phylogeny30▲ 75×5 topics
  7. Phylogeny30▲ 73×10 topics
  8. Phylogenetic Analysis28▲ 37×14 topics
  9. Phylogenetics28▲ 224×2 topics
  10. Habitat Fragmentation28▲ 51×5 topics
  11. Angiosperm Phylogeny27▲ 400×1 topic
  12. Flowering Plants27▲ 400×1 topic
  13. Global Change24▲ 36×4 topics
  14. Conservation21▲ 20×13 topics
  15. Ecosystem Services18▲ 19×8 topics
  16. molecular systematics18▲ 317×2 topics
  17. Gesneriaceae16▲ 420×1 topic
  18. phylogenetic reconstruction16▲ 420×1 topic
  19. Antioxidant16▲ 9.7×15 topics
  20. Plant-Animal Interactions15▲ 77×1 topic
  21. Pollinator Decline15▲ 77×1 topic
  22. Mosses15▲ 213×2 topics
  23. Polyploidy13▲ 106×4 topics
  24. Medicinal Plants13▲ 13×12 topics
  25. Antioxidant Activity12▲ 7.5×12 topics
  26. Secondary Metabolites10▲ 53×2 topics
  27. Ecology10▲ 23×7 topics
  28. Evolution9▲ 14×9 topics
  29. Genetic Diversity9▲ 8.2×9 topics
  30. Biomonitoring9▲ 43×2 topics
  31. Symbiosis9▲ 40×3 topics
  32. Conservation Biology8▲ 32×4 topics
  33. Air Pollution8▲ 27×1 topic
  34. Lichen8▲ 199×1 topic
  35. Mycorrhizal Fungi8▲ 48×2 topics
  36. Quality Assessment8▲ 19×2 topics
  37. Biodiversity Conservation8▲ 8.9×11 topics
  38. Chromosome Evolution8▲ 234×2 topics
  39. RNA-Seq8▲ 29×1 topic
  40. sequence alignment8▲ 52×1 topic

Which research topics does Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Plant Diversity and Evolution, Plant and Fungal Species Descriptions, Plant and animal studies and Lichen and fungal ecology.

Plant Diversity and Evol…27Plant Diversity and Evolution: 27 fractional worksPlant and Fungal Species Descriptions: 16 fractional worksPlant and animal studies: 15 fractional worksLichen and fungal ecology: 8 fractional worksGenomics and Phylogenetic Studies: 8 fractional worksBotany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies: 8 fractional worksSpecies Distribution and Climate Change: 8 fractional worksFern and Epiphyte Biology: 7 fractional worksBryophyte Studies and Records: 7 fractional worksPlant Parasitism and Resistance: 6 fractional works
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsMolecular BiologyPlant ScienceEcological Modeling

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Plant Diversity and Evolution Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 27 works
  2. 2 Plant and Fungal Species Descriptions Molecular Biology 16 works
  3. 3 Plant and animal studies Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 15 works
  4. 4 Lichen and fungal ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 8 works
  5. 5 Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies Molecular Biology 8 works
  6. 6 Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies Plant Science 8 works
  7. 7 Species Distribution and Climate Change Ecological Modeling 8 works
  8. 8 Fern and Epiphyte Biology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 7 works
  9. 9 Bryophyte Studies and Records Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 7 works
  10. 10 Plant Parasitism and Resistance Plant Science 6 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world's own shares: the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available55.7%not open44.3%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors33.6%domestic only66.4%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 4% higher than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.00067% in 2024.

still counting0.0020%0.0040%0.0060%Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh0.00084% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting10%20%all institutions10.0% in 2025Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh6.8% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 16.6% in 2016.

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Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on Science Explorer

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