NEWS Environmental research in the tropics is heavily skewed, according to a comprehensive study led from Umeå University. Humid lowland forest ecosystems receive a disproportionate amount of attention, while colder and drier regions that are more affected by climate change are severely underrepresented.
Some tropical regions are very understudied, such as the montane grasslands in the Peruvian Andes. This risks creating a misleading picture in research and leading to poor policy decisions.
ImageDaniel Metcalfe“Current research patterns risk giving a misleading picture about how tropical ecosystems function. This can lead to policy recommendations that fail to take into account the environments that are most vulnerable, or that take lessons learned from one system and mistakenly apply them to other systems,” says Daniel Metcalfe, lead author of the study and professor at Umeå University.
The researchers analysed 2,738 published studies conducted in natural terrestrial tropical environments across all scientific disciplines. By mapping both field sampling locations and how often different studies are cited, they were able to reveal strong geographic and ecological patterns in the research. The results are published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
The study shows that just five ecoregions—all located in moist broadleaf forests—account for 22 percent of all citations, despite representing only 3 percent of the total tropical land area. In contrast, drier regions with low tree cover make up 57 percent of the tropical region but stand for only 20 percent of total citations.
Many of the regions that receive the least research attention—such as mountain regions, deserts and grasslands—are also among those facing the most severe climate change impacts. This means that policy decisions affecting them may be based on incomplete or misleading science.
By clearly showing where research effort and scientific attention are lacking, the study provides a basis for guiding future research investments more strategically.
“To ensure effective environmental policy worldwide, research needs to better reflect the full range of tropical ecosystems. This is both a scientific necessity and a matter of fairness,” says Daniel Metcalfe. “Similar imbalances are likely to exist beyond the tropics. Understanding where research is lacking in other regions, such as Europe’s temperate and boreal ecosystems, could help shape future research agendas.”
Metcalfe, D. B., Anders, E., Axén, H. et al. Gaps in tropical science from unrepresentative distribution of sampling and citation across natural terrestrial environments. Nature Communications 16, 11378 (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-67617-4
