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Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

In research, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew stands highest in Life Sciences (#838 of 6,403 worldwide), Agricultural and Biological Sciences (#419 of 3,157 worldwide) and Plant Science (#316 of 1,317 worldwide), 2022-now. 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 59.0× its share of world research).

kew.orgROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#5,398
of 22,385 · #3,005 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#211
of 862
Research works
5.1k
▲ 21% vs 2018-21
Citations
141k
27.7 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
9.3%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.98×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
44%
world 40%
International
42%
world 18%
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

What is Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 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 #838 of 6,403 8.0%632 #1027
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #419 of 3,157 8.3%469 #496
Plant ScienceSubfield #316 of 1,317 7.6%189 #390
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #996 of 2,964 7.2%156 #1224
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsSubfield #99 of 269 8.0%226 #182
Environmental ScienceField #1,384 of 3,334 13.1%70 #1836
Molecular BiologySubfield #888 of 1,880 6.4%92 #1076
Physical SciencesDomain #9,285 of 10,670 12.5%103 #7553

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 average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which of those standings moved

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

  1. Life Sciences#1,027 #838
  2. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#496 #419
  3. Plant Science#390 #316
  4. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#1,224 #996
  5. Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics#182 #99
  6. Environmental Science#1,836 #1,384
  7. Molecular Biology#1,076 #888
  8. Physical Sciences#7,553 #9,285
all time2022-now, better2022-now, worse

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

Which fields of science does Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew work in?

In 2022-now, 78% of research at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is in Life Sciences, 14% in Physical Sciences. Its largest fields are Agricultural and Biological Sciences (57%), Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (19%), Environmental Science (9%). It does 5.8× the world's share of Life Sciences.

Life Sciences: 721 fractional works · 77.9% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 532 fractional works · 57.5% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 256 fractional works · 27.7% of its workPlant Science: 214 fractional works · 23.2% of its workFood Science: 19 fractional works · 2.0% of its workForestry: 16 fractional works · 1.7% of its workInsect Science: 14 fractional works · 1.6% of its workGeneral Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 4 fractional works · 0.4% of its workHorticulture: 3 fractional works · 0.3% of its workAgronomy and Crop Science: 3 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSoil Science: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 180 fractional works · 19.4% of its workMolecular Biology: 106 fractional works · 11.4% of its workGenetics: 35 fractional works · 3.7% of its workCell Biology: 21 fractional works · 2.2% of its workCancer Research: 12 fractional works · 1.3% of its workBiochemistry: 3 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 4 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 7 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPharmacology: 7 fractional works · 0.7% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workNeuroscience: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workPhysical Sciences: 126 fractional works · 13.7% of its workEnvironmental Science: 84 fractional works · 9.1% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 27 fractional works · 2.9% of its workEcology: 20 fractional works · 2.1% of its workEcological Modeling: 17 fractional works · 1.8% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 11 fractional works · 1.2% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 3 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 4 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 13 fractional works · 1.4% of its workPaleontology: 8 fractional works · 0.8% of its workSmaller subfields together: 6 fractional works · 0.6% of its workChemistry: 11 fractional works · 1.2% of its workOrganic Chemistry: 10 fractional works · 1.1% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEngineering: 6 fractional works · 0.7% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.3% of its workComputer Science: 5 fractional works · 0.5% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMaterials Science: 4 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBiomaterials: 3 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEnergy: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMathematics: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workChemical Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workHealth Sciences: 41 fractional works · 4.4% of its workMedicine: 37 fractional works · 4.0% of its workPharmacology: 18 fractional works · 1.9% of its workComplementary and alternative medicine: 6 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 13 fractional works · 1.5% of its workVeterinary: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workNursing: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Professions: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workSocial Sciences: 37 fractional works · 4.0% of its workArts and Humanities: 13 fractional works · 1.4% of its workHistory and Philosophy of Science: 6 fractional works · 0.6% of its workArcheology: 3 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 5 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSocial Sciences: 12 fractional works · 1.3% of its workGeography, Planning and Development: 4 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAnthropology: 3 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSociology and Political Science: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPsychology: 6 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSocial Psychology: 5 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 3 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 3 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDecision Sciences: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKRoyal BotanicGardens, Kew925fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences78%Physical Sciences14%Health Sciences4%Social Sciences4%

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 25 fields, with their numbers
    1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences53257.5%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology18019.4%
    3. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics70.7%
    4. Immunology and Microbiology10.1%
    5. Neuroscience10.1%
    1. Environmental Science849.1%
    2. Earth and Planetary Sciences131.4%
    3. Chemistry111.2%
    4. Engineering60.7%
    5. Computer Science50.5%
    6. Materials Science40.4%
    7. Energy10.1%
    8. Mathematics10.1%
    9. Physics and Astronomy10.1%
    10. Chemical Engineering00.0%
    1. Medicine374.0%
    2. Veterinary20.2%
    3. Nursing10.1%
    4. Health Professions10.1%
    1. Arts and Humanities131.4%
    2. Social Sciences121.3%
    3. Psychology60.6%
    4. Economics, Econometrics and Finance30.3%
    5. Business, Management and Accounting20.2%
    6. Decision Sciences10.1%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics takes 59.0× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsSubfield · 256.3 works59×
  2. Plant ScienceSubfield · 214.3 works13×
  3. Nature and Landscape ConservationSubfield · 27.2 works12×
  4. Agricultural and Biological SciencesField · 532.0 works12×
  5. Cell BiologySubfield · 20.5 works7.2×
← 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: 12.10× its world share, 532 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 3.64× its world share, 180 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.13× its world share, 1 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.06× its world share, 1 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 2.12× its world share, 7 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.10× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.78× its world share, 11 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.07× its world share, 5 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.91× its world share, 13 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.15× its world share, 1 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.04× its world share, 6 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.83× its world share, 84 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.11× its world share, 4 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: 0.21× its world share, 37 worksMedicineNursing: 0.30× its world share, 1 worksNursingVeterinary: 1.24× its world share, 2 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.50× its world share, 13 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.08× its world share, 2 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.11× its world share, 1 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.16× its world share, 3 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.21× its world share, 6 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.10× its world share, 12 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Agricultural and Biological Sciences, 12.1×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 25 fields, with their numbers
  1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences12.10×532 works
  2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology3.64×180 works
  3. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics2.12×7 works
  4. Environmental Science1.83×84 works
  5. Veterinary1.24×2 works
  6. Earth and Planetary Sciences0.91×13 works
  7. Chemistry0.78×11 works
  8. Arts and Humanities0.50×13 works
  9. Nursing0.30×1 works
  10. Medicine0.21×37 works
  11. Psychology0.21×6 works
  12. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.16×3 works
  13. Energy0.15×1 works
  14. Immunology and Microbiology0.13×1 works
  15. Materials Science0.11×4 works
  16. Decision Sciences0.11×1 works
  17. Chemical Engineering0.10×0 works
  18. Social Sciences0.10×12 works
  19. Business, Management and Accounting0.08×2 works
  20. Computer Science0.07×5 works
  21. Mathematics0.07×1 works
  22. Neuroscience0.06×1 works
  23. Engineering0.04×6 works
  24. Health Professions0.04×1 works
  25. Physics and Astronomy0.03×1 works

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

Ranked on the quality score, Félix Forest, Samuel Pironon and Vincent Savolainen lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

  1. 1 Félix Forest United Kingdom · #30,335 worldwide 17k citations · 399 works
  2. 2 Samuel Pironon United Kingdom · #33,945 worldwide 4.4k citations · 103 works
  3. 3 Vincent Savolainen United Kingdom · #35,752 worldwide 27k citations · 254 works
  4. 4 Eimear Nic Lughadha United Kingdom · #36,661 worldwide 10k citations · 173 works
  5. 5 Steven P. Bachman United Kingdom · #62,270 worldwide 7.3k citations · 90 works
  6. 6 Justin F. Moat United Kingdom · #66,760 worldwide 9.2k citations · 116 works
  7. 7 Ilia J. Leitch United Kingdom · #76,199 worldwide 20k citations · 352 works
  8. 8 William J. Baker United Kingdom · #87,380 worldwide 17k citations · 441 works
  9. 9 William Milliken United Kingdom · #97,647 worldwide 6.3k citations · 120 works
  10. 10 Laura J. Kelly United Kingdom · #105,663 worldwide 12k citations · 73 works
All ranked researchers at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

What are the most cited papers from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew?

The most cited paper from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 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 "Towards a unified paradigm for sequence‐based identification of fungi" (3,703) and "The global spectrum of plant form and function" (3,468).

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 Towards a unified paradigm for sequence‐based identification of fungi Urmas Kõljalg et al. · Molecular Ecology Open access 3 Aug 2013 3,703
3 The global spectrum of plant form and function Sandra Díaz et al. · Nature Open access 23 Dec 2015 3,468
4 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
5 Sequence-Based Species Delimitation for the DNA Taxonomy of Undescribed Insects Joan Maria Vianney Pons, Timothy G. Barraclough, Jesús Gómez‐Zurita et al. · Systematic Biology Open access Aug 2006 2,844
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Biogeography, Taxonomy, Biodiversity, Invasive Species, Molecular Phylogeny, Phylogeny, Phylogenetics 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-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. Biogeography261▲ 101×18 topics
  2. Taxonomy142▲ 106×12 topics
  3. Biodiversity134▲ 19×27 topics
  4. Invasive Species131▲ 33×19 topics
  5. Molecular Phylogeny126▲ 83×11 topics
  6. Climate Change124▲ 4.9×54 topics
  7. Phylogeny113▲ 73×13 topics
  8. Phylogenetics106▲ 228×2 topics
  9. Diversification106▲ 257×2 topics
  10. Angiosperm Phylogeny105▲ 411×1 topic
  11. Flowering Plants105▲ 411×1 topic
  12. Antioxidant95▲ 15×35 topics
  13. Habitat Fragmentation90▲ 45×5 topics
  14. Global Change89▲ 36×5 topics
  15. Medicinal Plants86▲ 24×17 topics
  16. Conservation73▲ 18×18 topics
  17. Ecosystem Services70▲ 20×9 topics
  18. Phylogenetic Analysis63▲ 22×15 topics
  19. Plant-Animal Interactions61▲ 85×1 topic
  20. Pollinator Decline61▲ 85×1 topic
  21. Polyploidy61▲ 132×4 topics
  22. molecular systematics59▲ 277×2 topics
  23. Genetic Diversity54▲ 13×17 topics
  24. Gesneriaceae47▲ 323×1 topic
  25. phylogenetic reconstruction47▲ 323×1 topic
  26. Anti-inflammatory47▲ 18×25 topics
  27. Evolution43▲ 17×14 topics
  28. Antioxidant Activity32▲ 5.6×23 topics
  29. Biodiversity Conservation32▲ 9.2×14 topics
  30. Pharmacology32▲ 14×15 topics
  31. Adaptive Radiation30▲ 103×2 topics
  32. Chromosome Evolution30▲ 229×2 topics
  33. Herbal Medicine30▲ 12×9 topics
  34. Phytochemical Analysis30▲ 41×2 topics
  35. Cyperus30▲ 267×1 topic
  36. essential oil30▲ 267×1 topic
  37. Epiphytes28▲ 278×1 topic
  38. Ferns28▲ 278×1 topic
  39. Mycorrhizal Fungi27▲ 41×2 topics
  40. Fungal Pathogens27▲ 22×5 topics

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

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

Plant Diversity and Evol…105Plant Diversity and Evolution: 105 fractional worksPlant and animal studies: 61 fractional worksPlant and Fungal Species Descriptions: 47 fractional worksBotany, Ecology, and Tax…30Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies: 30 fractional worksFern and Epiphyte Biology28Fern and Epiphyte Biology: 28 fractional worksEcology and Vegetation D…24Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies: 24 fractional worksPlant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases: 20 fractional worksPlant Taxonomy and Phylogenetics: 20 fractional worksAdvances in Cucurbitaceae Research: 18 fractional worksMycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions: 18 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 105 works
  2. 2 Plant and animal studies Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 61 works
  3. 3 Plant and Fungal Species Descriptions Molecular Biology 47 works
  4. 4 Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies Plant Science 30 works
  5. 5 Fern and Epiphyte Biology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 28 works
  6. 6 Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies Nature and Landscape Conservation 24 works
  7. 7 Plant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases Cell Biology 20 works
  8. 8 Plant Taxonomy and Phylogenetics Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 20 works
  9. 9 Advances in Cucurbitaceae Research Genetics 18 works
  10. 10 Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions Plant Science 18 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: 40% of research is openly available.

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

World: 18% is written across borders.

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

Output in 2022-2025 was 21% 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 Gardens, Kew as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0029% in 2024.

still counting0.0050%0.010%0.015%Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew0.0039% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 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 Gardens, Kew9.4% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 19.1% in 2005.

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