Language barriers in conservation science citation networks
Hannah, K., Fuller, R.A. Smith, R.K., Sutherland, W.J. and Amano, T. (2025) Conservation Biology.
Language barriers can limit the global integration of conservation knowledge, especially when non-English-language research is overlooked. To investigate how these barriers shape the use of scientific evidence, we analysed conservation studies published in 15 non-English languages, and compared their citation patterns in English-language literature.
The analysis revealed that studies in Hungarian, Polish, Korean, and Russian were particularly undercited in English (figure 1). In contrast, many of these studies were highly cited within their own language communities, reflecting strong local relevance. Importantly, the presence of an English abstract significantly increased the likelihood of a study being cited in English-language articles, while factors such as study design complexity or the conservation status of the studied species had no significant effect on citation rates (figure 2).
Our work underscores the importance of increasing visibility and accessibility of research in currently underutilised languages, not only for inclusivity but for a more complete global evidence base in conservation.
Also see the University of Queensland’s news release: Language a barrier in biodiversity work.
