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Research facility · Pretoria · South Africa

South African Environmental Observation Network

In research, South African Environmental Observation Network stands highest in Physical Sciences (#10,004 of 10,670 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Earth and Planetary Sciences (Earth and Planetary Sciences is 12.1× its share of world research).

saeon.ac.zaROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#21,298
of 22,385 · #20,855 all time
Rank in South Africa
#71
of 75
Research works
345
▼ 12% vs 2018-21
Citations
7.5k
21.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
9.5%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
1.01×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
61%
world 40%
International
36%
world 18%
South African Environmental Observation Network

What is South African Environmental Observation Network 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
Physical SciencesDomain #10,004 of 10,670 11.2%69 #9664

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where South African Environmental Observation Network 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 South African Environmental Observation Network work in?

In 2022-now, 75% of research at South African Environmental Observation Network is in Physical Sciences, 18% in Life Sciences. Its largest fields are Environmental Science (51%), Earth and Planetary Sciences (19%), Agricultural and Biological Sciences (12%). It does 1.9× the world's share of Physical Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 90 fractional works · 75.0% of its workEnvironmental Science: 62 fractional works · 51.4% of its workEcology: 18 fractional works · 14.7% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 17 fractional works · 13.8% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 8 fractional works · 6.5% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 7 fractional works · 5.5% of its workEcological Modeling: 3 fractional works · 2.3% of its workWater Science and Technology: 2 fractional works · 2.0% of its workEnvironmental Chemistry: 2 fractional works · 1.7% of its workPollution: 2 fractional works · 1.7% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 2 fractional works · 1.6% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 23 fractional works · 18.9% of its workOceanography: 14 fractional works · 11.9% of its workAtmospheric Science: 4 fractional works · 3.0% of its workPaleontology: 3 fractional works · 2.5% of its workEarth-Surface Processes: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workGeology: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workGeophysics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEngineering: 2 fractional works · 1.7% of its workOcean Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workBuilding and Construction: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSafety, Risk, Reliability and Quality: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workComputer Science: 2 fractional works · 1.3% of its workInformation Systems: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMaterials Science: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workBiomaterials: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMathematics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workChemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnergy: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workLife Sciences: 22 fractional works · 18.4% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 15 fractional works · 12.1% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 4 fractional works · 3.1% of its workPlant Science: 4 fractional works · 3.1% of its workSoil Science: 2 fractional works · 1.9% of its workForestry: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workGeneral Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workAgronomy and Crop Science: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workInsect Science: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workAquatic Science: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workFood Science: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 7 fractional works · 5.8% of its workBiotechnology: 3 fractional works · 2.5% of its workMolecular Biology: 2 fractional works · 2.0% of its workGenetics: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workNeuroscience: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workCellular and Molecular Neuroscience: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSocial Sciences: 6 fractional works · 4.8% of its workSocial Sciences: 2 fractional works · 1.9% of its workSociology and Political Science: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workLaw: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workDecision Sciences: 2 fractional works · 1.3% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1 fractional works · 1.2% of its workBusiness and International Management: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workManagement of Technology and Innovation: 0 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 workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPsychology: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workArts and Humanities: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Sciences: 2 fractional works · 1.7% of its workMedicine: 2 fractional works · 1.3% of its workInfectious Diseases: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEpidemiology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSurgery: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNursing: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNutrition and Dietetics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workHealth Professions: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKSouth AfricanEnvironmental…120fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences18%Physical Sciences75%Health Sciences2%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 22 fields, with their numbers
    1. Environmental Science6251.4%
    2. Earth and Planetary Sciences2318.9%
    3. Engineering21.7%
    4. Computer Science21.3%
    5. Materials Science10.8%
    6. Mathematics00.3%
    7. Physics and Astronomy00.2%
    8. Chemistry00.2%
    9. Energy00.2%
    1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences1512.1%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology75.8%
    3. Neuroscience00.3%
    4. Immunology and Microbiology00.3%
    1. Social Sciences21.9%
    2. Decision Sciences21.3%
    3. Business, Management and Accounting11.2%
    4. Economics, Econometrics and Finance00.2%
    5. Psychology00.1%
    6. Arts and Humanities00.1%
    1. Medicine21.3%
    2. Nursing00.3%
    3. Health Professions00.1%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does South African Environmental Observation Network specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Earth and Planetary Sciences takes 12.1× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Earth and Planetary SciencesField · 22.8 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: 2.54× its world share, 14 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.08× its world share, 7 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.30× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.20× its world share, 0 worksNeuroscienceChemistry: 0.10× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.17× its world share, 2 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 12.08× its world share, 23 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.18× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.11× its world share, 2 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 10.35× its world share, 62 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.23× its world share, 1 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.24× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.11× its world share, 0 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.07× its world share, 2 worksMedicineNursing: 0.66× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.38× its world share, 2 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.38× its world share, 2 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.08× its world share, 0 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.15× its world share, 2 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

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

All 22 fields, with their numbers
  1. Earth and Planetary Sciences12.08×23 works
  2. Environmental Science10.35×62 works
  3. Agricultural and Biological Sciences2.54×14 works
  4. Decision Sciences1.38×2 works
  5. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology1.08×7 works
  6. Nursing0.66×0 works
  7. Business, Management and Accounting0.38×2 works
  8. Immunology and Microbiology0.30×0 works
  9. Mathematics0.24×0 works
  10. Materials Science0.23×1 works
  11. Neuroscience0.20×0 works
  12. Energy0.18×0 works
  13. Computer Science0.17×2 works
  14. Social Sciences0.15×2 works
  15. Engineering0.11×2 works
  16. Physics and Astronomy0.11×0 works
  17. Chemistry0.10×0 works
  18. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.08×0 works
  19. Medicine0.07×2 works
  20. Health Professions0.04×0 works
  21. Arts and Humanities0.04×0 works
  22. Psychology0.04×0 works

Who are the top researchers at South African Environmental Observation Network?

Ranked on the quality score, Glenn R. Moncrieff, Dave I. Thompson and Anthony Michael Swemmer lead among researchers whose main affiliation is South African Environmental Observation Network.

  1. 1 Glenn R. Moncrieff South Africa · #417,532 worldwide 2k citations · 63 works
  2. 2 Dave I. Thompson South Africa · #971,459 worldwide 1.4k citations · 81 works
  3. 3 Anthony Michael Swemmer South Africa · #1,641,159 worldwide 1.4k citations · 58 works
  4. 4 Shaun H.P. Deyzel South Africa · #1,676,242 worldwide 429 citations · 18 works
  5. 5 Juliet Clair Hermes South Africa · #1,775,840 worldwide 2.9k citations · 105 works
  6. 6 Tim G. O’Connor South Africa · #2,301,624 worldwide 977 citations · 40 works
  7. 7 Wayne S. Goschen South Africa · #2,595,263 worldwide 469 citations · 17 works
  8. 8 A Götz South Africa · #2,627,517 worldwide 1.3k citations · 57 works
  9. 9 Helga van der Merwe South Africa · #2,969,284 worldwide 461 citations · 63 works
  10. 10 Tamaryn Morris South Africa · #3,664,883 worldwide 1.2k citations · 66 works
All ranked researchers at South African Environmental Observation Network

What are the most cited papers from South African Environmental Observation Network?

The most cited paper from South African Environmental Observation Network is "TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access" (Jens Kattge et al., 2019), with 2,168 citations. Next come "Global conservation outcomes depend on marine protected areas with five key features" (1,943) and "Grasslands—more important for ecosystem services than you might think" (1,126).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access Jens Kattge et al. · Global Change Biology Open access729 authors 31 Dec 2019 2,168
2 Global conservation outcomes depend on marine protected areas with five key features Graham J. Edgar et al. · Nature Open access 4 Feb 2014 1,943
3 Grasslands—more important for ecosystem services than you might think Jan Bengtsson, James M. Bullock, Benis Nchine Egoh et al. · Ecosphere Open access Feb 2019 1,126
4 Savanna woody encroachment is widespread across three continents Nicola Stevens, Caroline E. R. Lehmann, Brett P. Murphy et al. · Global Change Biology Open access 2 Jul 2016 709
5 On the role of the Agulhas system in ocean circulation and climate Lisa M. Beal, Wilhelmus P. M. de Ruijter, Arne Biastoch et al. · Nature 26 Apr 2011 672
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at South African Environmental Observation Network?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Biodiversity, Invasive Species, Conservation, Global Change, Benthic Communities, Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Resilience.

▲ 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. Climate Change39▲ 12×46 topics
  2. Biodiversity16▲ 17×16 topics
  3. Invasive Species12▲ 23×11 topics
  4. Conservation10▲ 19×9 topics
  5. Global Change9▲ 27×4 topics
  6. Sustainability9▲ 2.9×16 topics
  7. Benthic Communities8▲ 111×2 topics
  8. Marine Biodiversity8▲ 111×2 topics
  9. Ecosystem Resilience8▲ 43×5 topics
  10. Biogeography8▲ 23×10 topics
  11. Ecosystem8▲ 61×2 topics
  12. Habitat Fragmentation8▲ 29×3 topics
  13. Global Warming7▲ 14×10 topics
  14. Ecosystem Functioning7▲ 28×5 topics
  15. Biological Invasions7▲ 61×3 topics
  16. Remote Sensing7▲ 4.6×16 topics
  17. Land Use Change6▲ 17×5 topics
  18. Ecosystem Services6▲ 13×7 topics
  19. Species Richness6▲ 76×2 topics
  20. Community Ecology6▲ 56×1 topic
  21. Functional Diversity6▲ 87×1 topic
  22. Ocean Acidification6▲ 61×3 topics
  23. Deep-Sea Ecology5▲ 139×1 topic
  24. Estuarine Quality5▲ 139×1 topic
  25. Coastal Protection5▲ 61×2 topics
  26. Biodiversity Conservation5▲ 11×7 topics
  27. Climate Change Impacts5▲ 32×5 topics
  28. Model Evaluation5▲ 31×2 topics
  29. Adaptation4▲ 12×3 topics
  30. Ocean Circulation4▲ 28×3 topics
  31. Trophic Cascades4▲ 36×2 topics
  32. Livelihoods4▲ 89×2 topics
  33. Climate Change Impact4▲ 13×3 topics
  34. Harmful Algal Blooms4▲ 35×3 topics
  35. Drought3▲ 28×2 topics
  36. Evapotranspiration3▲ 34×2 topics
  37. Pastoralists3▲ 111×1 topic
  38. Rangeland Degradation3▲ 111×1 topic
  39. Sediment Transport3▲ 18×4 topics
  40. Bioprospecting3▲ 97×2 topics

Which research topics does South African Environmental Observation Network publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies, Marine Biology and Ecology Research, Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology and Marine Sponges and Natural Products.

Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies: 6 fractional worksMarine Biology and Ecology Research: 5 fractional worksRangeland Management and Livestock Ecology: 3 fractional worksMarine Sponges and Natural Products: 3 fractional worksMarine and coastal plant biology: 3 fractional worksSpecies Distribution and Climate Change: 3 fractional worksPlant Water Relations an…3Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics: 3 fractional worksOceanographic and Atmosp…2Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes: 2 fractional worksCoral and Marine Ecosyst…2Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies: 2 fractional worksMarine and fisheries res…2Marine and fisheries research: 2 fractional works
Nature and Landscape ConservationOceanographyManagement, Monitoring, Policy and LawBiotechnology3 others

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

  1. 1 Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies Nature and Landscape Conservation 6 works
  2. 2 Marine Biology and Ecology Research Oceanography 5 works
  3. 3 Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law 3 works
  4. 4 Marine Sponges and Natural Products Biotechnology 3 works
  5. 5 Marine and coastal plant biology Oceanography 3 works
  6. 6 Species Distribution and Climate Change Ecological Modeling 3 works
  7. 7 Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics Global and Planetary Change 3 works
  8. 8 Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes Oceanography 2 works
  9. 9 Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies Ecology 2 works
  10. 10 Marine and fisheries research Global and Planetary Change 2 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 available60.7%not open39.3%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors35.9%domestic only64.1%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has South African Environmental Observation Network's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 12% lower 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 South African Environmental Observation Network as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.00044% in 2024.

still counting0.00025%0.00050%0.00075%South African Environmental Observation Network0.00040% in 20251990200020102020

Fractional works of South African Environmental Observation Network 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%South African Environmental Observation Network12.3% in 2025all institutions10.0% in 20252020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 17.8% in 2017.

Other research institutions in Pretoria

All research institutions in Pretoria

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South African Environmental Observation Network on Science Explorer

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