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Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

In research, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew stands highest in Agricultural and Biological Sciences (#481 of 3,409 worldwide), Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics (#39 of 255 worldwide) and Life Sciences (#2,884 of 7,800 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Plant Science and Nature and Landscape Conservation — Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics is 60.4× its share of world research.

kew.orgROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#5,406
of 28,054 · #3,647 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#208
of 1,094
Research works
5.1k
▲ 9% vs 2013–17
Citations
141k
27.7 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
17.9%
record average 16.5%
Open access
44%
world 28%

What is Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #481 of 3,409 15.7%469 #185
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsSubfield #39 of 255 14.8%226 #39
Life SciencesDomain #2,884 of 7,800 15.5%632 #1592
Environmental ScienceField #1,433 of 3,551 37.9%70 #1124
Plant ScienceSubfield #688 of 1,395 15.1%189 #266
Physical SciencesDomain #7,332 of 12,888 29.4%103 #6404
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #2,616 of 3,579 15.0%156 #1348
Molecular BiologySubfield #1,641 of 2,175 14.3%92 #797

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 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 world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#185 #481
  2. Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics#39 #39
  3. Life Sciences#1,592 #2,884
  4. Environmental Science#1,124 #1,433
  5. Plant Science#266 #688
  6. Physical Sciences#6,404 #7,332
  7. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#1,348 #2,616
  8. Molecular Biology#797 #1,641
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics takes 60.4× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsSubfield · 226.0 works60×
  2. Plant ScienceSubfield · 188.6 works14×
  3. Nature and Landscape ConservationSubfield · 24.2 works13×
  4. Agricultural and Biological SciencesField · 469.2 works12×
← 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: 12.38× its world share, 469 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 3.68× its world share, 156 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.11× its world share, 1 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.07× its world share, 1 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 1.60× its world share, 4 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemistry: 0.74× its world share, 9 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.07× its world share, 4 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.79× its world share, 10 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.04× its world share, 4 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.77× its world share, 70 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.10× its world share, 3 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.07× its world share, 1 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.03× its world share, 1 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.04× its world share, 1 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.19× its world share, 30 worksMedicineNursing: 0.35× its world share, 1 worksNursingVeterinary: 1.21× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.46× its world share, 10 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.08× its world share, 2 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.12× its world share, 1 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.15× its world share, 3 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.19× its world share, 5 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.09× its world share, 10 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Agricultural and Biological Sciences, 12.4×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew?

Ranked on the composite score, John Dransfield, William J. Baker and Mark W. Chase lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

  1. 1 John Dransfield United Kingdom · #11,257 worldwide 562 citations · 62 works
  2. 2 William J. Baker United Kingdom · #11,901 worldwide 570 citations · 82 works
  3. 3 Mark W. Chase United Kingdom · #19,895 worldwide 918 citations · 97 works
  4. 4 Paul Wilkin United Kingdom · #53,492 worldwide 364 citations · 74 works
  5. 5 Ilia J. Leitch United Kingdom · #55,058 worldwide 358 citations · 52 works
  6. 6 Paula J. Rudall United Kingdom · #70,835 worldwide 373 citations · 72 works
  7. 7 David Hunt United Kingdom · #74,263 worldwide 260 citations · 78 works
  8. 8 R. W. G. Dennis United Kingdom · #77,262 worldwide 333 citations · 75 works
  9. 9 Monique S. J. Simmonds United Kingdom · #78,075 worldwide 185 citations · 56 works
  10. 10 Hugh W. Pritchard United Kingdom · #81,398 worldwide 281 citations · 64 works
All ranked researchers at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Which keywords describe research at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Biogeography, Taxonomy, Invasive Species, Biodiversity, Molecular Phylogeny, Phylogeny, Climate Change and Diversification.

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

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 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. Biogeography232▲ 112×16 topics
  2. Taxonomy124▲ 120×10 topics
  3. Invasive Species122▲ 36×18 topics
  4. Biodiversity120▲ 20×26 topics
  5. Climate Change112▲ 5.2×50 topics
  6. Molecular Phylogeny110▲ 89×10 topics
  7. Phylogeny99▲ 82×11 topics
  8. Diversification92▲ 297×2 topics
  9. Phylogenetics92▲ 258×2 topics
  10. Angiosperm Phylogeny91▲ 441×1 topic
  11. Flowering Plants91▲ 441×1 topic
  12. Habitat Fragmentation83▲ 47×5 topics
  13. Global Change82▲ 39×5 topics
  14. Antioxidant81▲ 15×32 topics
  15. Medicinal Plants78▲ 24×17 topics
  16. Conservation66▲ 19×17 topics
  17. Ecosystem Services64▲ 21×9 topics
  18. Plant-Animal Interactions58▲ 85×1 topic
  19. Pollinator Decline58▲ 85×1 topic
  20. molecular systematics57▲ 297×2 topics
  21. Polyploidy52▲ 141×4 topics
  22. Genetic Diversity48▲ 14×17 topics
  23. Phylogenetic Analysis47▲ 19×14 topics
  24. Gesneriaceae46▲ 344×1 topic
  25. phylogenetic reconstruction46▲ 344×1 topic
  26. Anti-inflammatory41▲ 19×25 topics
  27. Evolution37▲ 19×14 topics
  28. Antioxidant Activity29▲ 5.8×21 topics
  29. Biodiversity Conservation28▲ 9.4×13 topics
  30. Phytochemical Analysis27▲ 44×2 topics
  31. Cyperus27▲ 271×1 topic
  32. essential oil27▲ 271×1 topic
  33. Pharmacology27▲ 13×15 topics
  34. Adaptive Radiation26▲ 110×2 topics
  35. Herbal Medicine25▲ 11×8 topics
  36. Epiphytes24▲ 318×1 topic
  37. Ferns24▲ 318×1 topic
  38. Genomics24▲ 10.0×10 topics
  39. Mycorrhizal Fungi24▲ 41×2 topics
  40. Ecosystem23▲ 27×4 topics

Which research topics does Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Plant Diversity and Evolution, Plant and animal studies, Plant and Fungal Species Descriptions and Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies.

Plant Diversity and Evol…91Plant Diversity and Evolution: 91 fractional worksPlant and animal studies: 58 fractional worksPlant and Fungal Species Descriptions: 46 fractional worksBotany, Ecology, and Tax…27Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies: 27 fractional worksFern and Epiphyte Biology24Fern and Epiphyte Biology: 24 fractional worksEcology and Vegetation D…21Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies: 21 fractional worksPlant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases: 18 fractional worksAdvances in Cucurbitaceae Research: 17 fractional worksPlant Taxonomy and Phylogenetics: 17 fractional worksEthnobotanical and Medicinal Plants Studies: 15 fractional works
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsMolecular BiologyPlant ScienceNature and Landscape Conservation2 others

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

  1. 1 Plant Diversity and Evolution Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 91 works
  2. 2 Plant and animal studies Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 58 works
  3. 3 Plant and Fungal Species Descriptions Molecular Biology 46 works
  4. 4 Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies Plant Science 27 works
  5. 5 Fern and Epiphyte Biology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 24 works
  6. 6 Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies Nature and Landscape Conservation 21 works
  7. 7 Plant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases Cell Biology 18 works
  8. 8 Advances in Cucurbitaceae Research Genetics 17 works
  9. 9 Plant Taxonomy and Phylogenetics Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 17 works
  10. 10 Ethnobotanical and Medicinal Plants Studies Plant Science 15 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 available43.9%not open56.1%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors41.7%domestic only58.3%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 9% higher than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

Other research institutions in London

All research institutions in London

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.