Fungal Diversity in Argentina, bibliometric analysis of published research in the context of Convention on Biological Diversity

Abstract

In 1994, Argentina has ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), by law 24.375, reflecting the public concern about biological diversity and the necessity to implement appropriate actions to promote its conservation. In order to study the scientific production in relation to fungal diversity in a pre and post-CBD context, a bibliometric study was carried out, evaluating the national scientific production in fungal diversity between 1978-1994 and 2000-2016 periods. The study was performed analyzing publications in national and international journals selected as indicators of the contributions to Argentine fungal diversity and elaborating collaboration networks with obtained data. The study included publications with at least one Argentine author and researches carried out in Argentina with or without collaborations with foreign institutions. Only those publications with contributions to Argentine fungal diversity were included. A total of 314 articles were incorporated to the analyses. Our results indicate an exponential trend in the production of knowledge in native fungal diversity and showed important collaboration networks between institutes at the national and international level. The data suggest a trend towards the decentralization of human resources and towards regional capacity building. The ratification of the CBD and the Nagoya Protocol in Argentina has promoted changes in regulatory frameworks, but their impact on the scientific and technological field is not clear. The changes at the national level, such as the creation of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Nation, seem to have promoted knowledge of the fungal diversity in Argentina and therefore for its conservation, compared to those resulting from multilateral agreements at the international level.