Figure 2 also reveals the number of highly cited papers on biochar from 2013 to 2023, which mirrors the overall increase in biochar publications during this period. The increase in highly cited papers signifies that the research is not only growing in volume but also collect citations.
In 2013, among 499 publications, there were 46 highly cited papers. This number rose steadily in the following years, reaching a peak of 186 highly cited papers out of 5,591 total publications in 2021. Even though the total number of publications increased in 2022, the count of highly cited papers slightly dropped to 170, which could be due to the papers not having enough time to accumulate citations.
The data for 2023 only represents part of the year, but with 22 highly cited papers out of 1,994 total publications so far, the year is on track to continue the trend of growing influence in biochar research.
The increase in these highly cited papers over time suggests that biochar research is still gaining momentum to the broader field of environmental science, continuing the trend from previous bibliometric studies (Qin et al. 2022).
Prolific authors