The Social and Cultural Awareness Disparity in Open Natural Ecosystems Research – A Systematic Review

Globally, two-thirds (59%) of the earth’s terrestrial habitats comprise non-tree-covered forests and open natural ecosystems (ONEs). Studies indicate that ONEs are often overlooked in conservation science, policy, and practice due to biome awareness disparity (BAD). In this context, a review study was conducted to explore the existence of other potential areas of awareness disparity within research studies related to ONEs. Adopting a systematic bibliometric analysis, twenty-six articles published in peer-reviewed journals were reviewed to gain new insights. Our review notices that research studies on ONEs are heavily skewed towards the biodiversity and biophysical aspects of ONEs, and socio-cultural studies are found to be minimal. In addition to BAD, the review indicates that ONE's research may also show signs of social awareness disparity (SAD) and cultural awareness disparity (CAD). However, a much larger study covering research on the different types of ONEs, including hot and cold deserts, tundra, flooded/saline plains, rock outcrops, boulder and rubble fields, wetlands, peatlands, heathlands, grasslands, savannah ecosystems, and mangroves, has to be studied to ascertain our observations about SAD and CAD. Our review opens the doors for further research and discussion, as the existing literature may not provide sufficient information on the social and cultural heritage factors related to ONEs around the world.