A systematic review of the trends in ecological science in the megabiodiverse Peru: Research gaps and future directions

Sotomayor D.A.; Caro C.; Morales R. · Austral Ecology (2024) · DOI: 10.1111/aec.13305

Resumen

Peru is a megabiodiverse country that is experiencing a considerable amount of anthropogenic change which is risking its ecosystems. Ecological science may provide the answers on how to cope with change by exploring new ways of sustainably using ecosystems. Here we review the current state and trends of ecological studies using a database search aiming to answer these questions: (i) who has been studying Peruvian ecosystems and how impactful was that research? (ii) what are the most studied political and ecological regions in the country? (iii) what are the most studied taxa? (iv) what are the most studied variables? and (v) what are the most studied topics and their relation with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? To answer these questions, we conducted a systematic review using the Scopus database (1974–2022) and found 465 articles that conducted ecological research in Peru. We found a vast and increasing diversity of journals and authors publishing research on Peru's ecosystems, with an important participation of Peruvian scientists, especially in the last 15 years. The Amazonian regions of the country were most studied, with some political and ecological regions almost assessed, such as Huancavelica, Ayacucho, Apurimac and Tacna and the pacific tropical forest, paramo and palm tree savanna, respectively. Most studies dealt with single species, primarily animals, and secondly plants. Species composition and/or distribution was the main variable of study and conservation was the main topic. Life on Land (SDG 15) was more represented than other SDGs (58.4% of articles), leaving several others almost unstudied. Overall, we found that ecological research on Peruvian ecosystems is biased to certain regions, taxa and topics. This represents important opportunities for new projects, research collaborations and alignment to global sustainability agendas for more meaningful knowledge production, especially considering the significant increase in research output seen in the last 15 years.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina