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Topic · Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Lichen and fungal ecology

Lichen and fungal ecology is a research topic within Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics. Science Explorer counts 27k research works in it since 1950. 10.0% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on the symbiotic relationships between lichens, fungi, and algae, their role as bioindicators of air pollution, the production and biological activities of lichen secondary metabolites, phylogenetic analyses of lichen-forming fungi, and the impact of lichens on ecological processes. The research covers topics such as biomonitoring, ecological impacts, and the diversity and function of lichen symbioses.

  • Lichen
  • Symbiosis
  • Biomonitoring
  • Secondary Metabolites
  • Phylogenetic Analysis
  • Air Pollution
  • Mosses
  • Fungi
  • Antioxidant Activity
  • Biogeography
Research works
27k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
2.7k
per year above
Top-10% rate
10.0%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
-2%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
China
26% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Lichen and fungal ecology

Which countries lead Lichen and fungal ecology research?

By volume, China and Russia publish the most (640 and 418 works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 China 640 works
  2. 2 Russia 418 works
  3. 3 United States 344 works
  4. 4 India 231 works
  5. 5 Poland 170 works
  6. 6 Brazil 156 works
  7. 7 Germany 145 works
  8. 8 Spain 125 works
  9. 9 Türkiye 116 works
  10. 10 Italy 114 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

China: 26.0%Russia: 17.0%United States: 14.0%India: 9.4%6 others listed: 33.6%26%largest
China640 · 26.0%Russia418 · 17.0%United States344 · 14.0%India231 · 9.4%6 others listed826 · 33.6%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Lichen and fungal ecology research?

By volume in 2022-now, Russian Academy of Sciences publishes the most Lichen and fungal ecology research, followed by Chinese Academy of Sciences and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Russian Academy of SciencesRussia 225 works
  2. 2 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 104 works
  3. 3 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 39 works
  4. 4 Czech Academy of SciencesCzechia 33 works
  5. 5 Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientíficasSpain 30 works
  6. 6 National Academy of Sciences of UkraineUkraine 28 works
  7. 7 University of the PunjabPakistan 24 works
  8. 8 Botanical Survey of IndiaIndia 24 works
  9. 9 Lomonosov Moscow State UniversityRussia 23 works
  10. 10 Southwest Forestry UniversityChina 23 works

Who are the leading researchers in Lichen and fungal ecology?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Lichen and fungal ecology include Mark A. Bradford, Guangming Zeng and Peter B. Reich.

  1. 1 Mark A. Bradford United States 268k citations
  2. 2 Guangming Zeng China 204k citations
  3. 3 Peter B. Reich United States 189k citations
  4. 4 F. Stuart Chapin United States 185k citations
  5. 5 Noah Fierer United States 175k citations
  6. 6 Pamela S. Soltis United States 165k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Lichen and fungal ecology?

The most cited paper in Lichen and fungal ecology is "Towards a unified paradigm for sequence‐based identification of fungi" (Urmas Kõljalg et al., 2013), with 3,703 citations. Next come "The kinetics of sorption of divalent metal ions onto sphagnum moss peat" (2,914) and "Glossary of pollen and spore terminology" (2,574).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Towards a unified paradigm for sequence‐based identification of fungi Urmas Kõljalg et al. · Molecular Ecology Open access 3 Aug 2013 3,703
2 The kinetics of sorption of divalent metal ions onto sphagnum moss peat Yuh‐Shan Ho · Water Research 15 Feb 2000 2,914
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 Molecular evidence for glacial refugia of mountain plants in the European Alps Peter Schönswetter, Ivana Stehlik, Rolf Holderegger et al. · Molecular Ecology 10 Aug 2005 2,101
5 The distance decay of similarity in biogeography and ecology Jeffrey C. Nekola, Peter S. White · Journal of Biogeography Jul 1999 1,947
All 100 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Lichen and fungal ecology research done?

The largest centres of Lichen and fungal ecology research in 2022-now are Beijing (China), Moscow (Russia), Kunming (China) and Madrid (Spain).

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 BeijingChina 152 works
  2. 2 MoscowRussia 117 works
  3. 3 KunmingChina 61 works
  4. 4 MadridSpain 45 works
  5. 5 ParisFrance 43 works
  6. 6 GuiyangChina 38 works
  7. 7 Saint PetersburgRussia 37 works
  8. 8 PragueCzechia 36 works
  9. 9 WarsawPoland 35 works
  10. 10 KrakowPoland 35 works
See Lichen and fungal ecology on the map

Where is the best place to study Lichen and fungal ecology?

Among universities, judged by research, Beijing Forestry University, Kastamonu University and Southwest Forestry University score highest, combining citation excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 15.81%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →Kastamonu UniversitySwedish University o…Beijing Forestry Uni…Southwest Forestry U…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Citation excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Beijing Forestry UniversityChina 65.621.7%22.8×23 +49.4%
2Kastamonu UniversityTürkiye 61.941.7%16.1×8 +132.0%
3Southwest Forestry UniversityChina 60.314.7%57.6×23 +84.1%
4Swedish University of Agricultural SciencesSweden 57.325.0%23.8×13 -12.1%
5University of the PunjabPakistan 55.50.3%24.2×24 +560.8%
6Mae Fah Luang UniversityThailand 49.68.0%92.6×15 +11.6%
7Jagiellonian UniversityPoland 49.218.8%7.7×18 -3.1%
8Lomonosov Moscow State UniversityRussia 45.42.2%7.8×24 -21.7%
9Czech University of Life Sciences PragueCzechia 44.020.0%25.6×9 +10.9%
10Universidad Rey Juan CarlosSpain 40.85.7%11.2×10 +26.4%

Universities only. The score blends citation excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Lichen and fungal ecology, country by country

Is Lichen and fungal ecology research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 2% lower than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2021.

still counting19801990200020102020
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 Lichen and fungal ecology as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.015% in 2024.

still counting0.025%0.050%0.075%Lichen and fungal ecology0.016% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Lichen and fungal ecology 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.

still counting5%10%15%Lichen and fungal ecology9.5% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

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