Gross primary productivity research: ongoing trends and future trajectories

Gross primary productivity (GPP) is the largest flux in the global carbon cycle and is vital for understanding the role of the biosphere in the climate system. The overarching aim of the present study is to conduct a bibliometric analysis of research on GPP methods with an eye toward future research trajectories. We first briefly summarize GPP estimation methods then use bibliometric analysis to describe the current state of GPP research and ongoing opportunities for improvement. We demonstrate widespread cooperation in GPP research among scholars from European nations whereas scholars from the United States, China, and India tend to be more insular, emphasizing unmet opportunities for international collaboration. A growing number of scientific journals are publishing GPP research, and recent developments in computer science are paving the way for advanced approaches regarding the GPP estimation studies, but studies that incorporate “deep learning,” “interpretable artificial intelligence,” and other modern data science approaches are still largely lacking. By coupling a strong foundation of GPP research methods with ongoing innovations, we can further improve our understanding of the process that brings us the carbon that we all rely on.