Mapping the evolution and current trends in climate change adaptation science
Research on climate change adaptation has increased in number and significance since the 1970s. Yet, the volume of information on adaptation is now difficult to manage given its vast scope and spread across journals, institutions, disciplines and themes. While an increasing number of researchers hav...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Climate Risk Management |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221209632100019X |
| _version_ | 1829479187883229184 |
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| author | Johanna Nalau Brodie Verrall |
| author_facet | Johanna Nalau Brodie Verrall |
| author_sort | Johanna Nalau |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Research on climate change adaptation has increased in number and significance since the 1970s. Yet, the volume of information on adaptation is now difficult to manage given its vast scope and spread across journals, institutions, disciplines and themes. While an increasing number of researchers have used systematic literature reviews to analyse particular themes within this rapidly growing field of research, there is still missing an overall analysis of the current state of climate change adaptation science literature and its evolution. This paper fills this gap by providing a multifaceted bibliometric review of climate change adaptation science literature that is focused on the human dimensions and how it has been constructed across time, disciplines, social relationships and geographies. Our novel review, spanning from 1978 to mid-2020, identifies the underpinning foundations of climate change adaptation literature, leading authors, countries and organisations as well as dominant research themes and priorities and explores how these have changed over time. Our results show an annual average increase of 28.5% in climate change adaptation publications, with over 26,000 authors publishing on this topic, and increasing diversity in publishing sources. Priority research topics and themes have been dynamic over time, while some core concepts (vulnerability, resilience, adaptive capacity) and sectors (water, agriculture) have remained relatively stable. The key challenge going forward is how to consolidate this vast research endeavour into a more coherent adaptation theory that in turn can better guide science of adaptation and support adaptation policy and practice (science for adaptation). |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T17:32:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f749adab952348bfa303b04575c68424 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2212-0963 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T17:32:10Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Climate Risk Management |
| spelling | doaj.art-f749adab952348bfa303b04575c684242022-12-21T22:53:05ZengElsevierClimate Risk Management2212-09632021-01-0132100290Mapping the evolution and current trends in climate change adaptation scienceJohanna Nalau0Brodie Verrall1Adaptation Science Research Group, Cities Research Institute and School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia; Corresponding author.Environment Futures Research Institute and School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Queensland, AustraliaResearch on climate change adaptation has increased in number and significance since the 1970s. Yet, the volume of information on adaptation is now difficult to manage given its vast scope and spread across journals, institutions, disciplines and themes. While an increasing number of researchers have used systematic literature reviews to analyse particular themes within this rapidly growing field of research, there is still missing an overall analysis of the current state of climate change adaptation science literature and its evolution. This paper fills this gap by providing a multifaceted bibliometric review of climate change adaptation science literature that is focused on the human dimensions and how it has been constructed across time, disciplines, social relationships and geographies. Our novel review, spanning from 1978 to mid-2020, identifies the underpinning foundations of climate change adaptation literature, leading authors, countries and organisations as well as dominant research themes and priorities and explores how these have changed over time. Our results show an annual average increase of 28.5% in climate change adaptation publications, with over 26,000 authors publishing on this topic, and increasing diversity in publishing sources. Priority research topics and themes have been dynamic over time, while some core concepts (vulnerability, resilience, adaptive capacity) and sectors (water, agriculture) have remained relatively stable. The key challenge going forward is how to consolidate this vast research endeavour into a more coherent adaptation theory that in turn can better guide science of adaptation and support adaptation policy and practice (science for adaptation).http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221209632100019XClimate change adaptationAdaptation theoryClimate adaptation scienceMulticomponent bibliometric analysisVOSviewer |
| spellingShingle | Johanna Nalau Brodie Verrall Mapping the evolution and current trends in climate change adaptation science Climate Risk Management Climate change adaptation Adaptation theory Climate adaptation science Multicomponent bibliometric analysis VOSviewer |
| title | Mapping the evolution and current trends in climate change adaptation science |
| title_full | Mapping the evolution and current trends in climate change adaptation science |
| title_fullStr | Mapping the evolution and current trends in climate change adaptation science |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mapping the evolution and current trends in climate change adaptation science |
| title_short | Mapping the evolution and current trends in climate change adaptation science |
| title_sort | mapping the evolution and current trends in climate change adaptation science |
| topic | Climate change adaptation Adaptation theory Climate adaptation science Multicomponent bibliometric analysis VOSviewer |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221209632100019X |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT johannanalau mappingtheevolutionandcurrenttrendsinclimatechangeadaptationscience AT brodieverrall mappingtheevolutionandcurrenttrendsinclimatechangeadaptationscience |