Tropical cities research boundaries: a bibliometric analysis to bridge the gaps through multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary features

Abstract

Tropical regions are known for their complex ecosystems and biodiversity, which play a vital role in regulating the global climate. However, researching tropical cities can be challenging due to the need for multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional approaches. In this study, we conducted a bibliometric analysis to gain a structured understanding of the developments and characteristics of tropical cities research in the last decade. We identified the fundamental influences in tropical cities research, based on four major sub-topics: climate change, sustainable urbanization, protecting biodiversity, and urban resource management. We examined the connections between these themes and performed a systematic literature review on each. Our analysis provides a comprehensive trend analysis of tropical cities, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Our findings aim to provide a solid foundation for bridging the gaps for future crosscutting research.

Understanding hydrological connectivity: an empirical study of river-aquifer interaction across Brazil

“…This requirement sometimes makes such studies costly or demands a multidisciplinary team (Hammett et al, 2022). These factors may partially explain why these studies are limited in tropical regions, especially in Brazil (Uchôa et al, 2022;Uchôa et al, 2023).…”

“…However, there is a notable absence of studies assessing river-aquifer exchanges at a regional scale in tropical regions. This gap is mainly due to complexities inherent, including limited data availability and financial constraints (Uchôa et al, 2023).…”

“…Subsequently, the combined influence of climate, geological structure, and groundwater extraction on these riveraquifer interactions is explored. Given the challenges associated with public field data collection in tropical regions (Uchôa et al, 2023), the results obtained in this study were compared with those derived from remote sensing methods and surface hydrology data. This work stands as an initial stride towards comprehending the impact of climate and human perspectives on these interactions and their subsequent integration into water resources management in the tropics.…”