Language barriers in conservation science citation networks

作者：K Hannah, Richard A. Fuller, Rebecca K. Smith, William J. Sutherland, Tatsuya Amano · 发表于：Conservation Biology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1111/cobi.70051 · 被引用次数：8 · 研究领域：Species Distribution and Climate Change、Animal and Plant Science Education、Computational and Text Analysis Methods

Using relevant scientific evidence is crucial to effectively conserve species and ecosystems worldwide. Currently, evidence that is available only in non-English languages is severely underutilized. We examined many underutilized non-English languages in the conservation evidence literature and factors that facilitate the use of non-English-language evidence based on citation patterns of articles testing the effectiveness of conservation actions published in English and 15 non-English languages. Multivariate models incorporated explanatory variables, such as lexical distance from English, availability of an English abstract, study design complexity, conservation status of studied species, and language of citing articles. Non-English-language articles received significantly fewer English citations (i.e., citations in English-language articles) than English-language articles. Hungarian, Polish, Korean, and Russian articles were particularly undercited in English. Despite fewer English citations, many non-English-language articles had high citation rates in their own languages, indicating their value in local conservation communities. Non-English-language articles with English abstracts received more English citations. The content of the article, such as a more robust study design or assessment of threatened species, was not significantly associated with the number of English citations received. Our findings highlight the importance of increasing the visibility and recognition o...