## 4 Discussion
### Scientometric Analysis Insight: Role of Countries, Authors, Institutions, and Journals
establishing artificial forests in water-deficit areas of China poses a significant risk [69], potentially due to the low annual precipitation (below 500 mm) and twice as high potential evapotranspiration levels in arid and semi-arid regions of the country [66; 70]. A recent meta-analysis conducted in the Loess Plateau, China (CLP), found that climate change has resulted in a notable reduction in streamflow [71]. [PERSON] et al. (2020) predict that the WUE of CLP's ecosystem could decrease in the upcoming years due to a potential reduction in the benefits of leaf area and an increase in the detrimental impacts of the atmospheric vapor pressure deficit [72]. Anticipated climate change outcomes indicate that increased temperatures may worsen drought conditions in water-scarce parts of China, potentially causing ecological deterioration and a food emergency [73; 74]. Thus, the significant contribution of Chinese scientists and the maturity of their institutions in this field are linked to a long historical perspective of almost five decades, during which they have gained knowledge from the challenges of land and environmental degradation, and the restoration efforts to revive and improve these conditions. The notable research advancements in developed and rapidly progressing nations can be credited to factors like economic autonomy, political steadiness, forest reserves, the severity of climate change, and a sound targeted approach for mitigating climate change and ensuring ecological and environmental balance. Most countries from the Global South, excluding PR China, Japan, India, Brazil, and Chile, did not greatly contribute to this research field (Figure 2). Criticism towards these regions is commonly due to their role in intensifying climate change, mainly caused by heavy industrialization, deforestation, and other human activities [75; 76]. While Laos, Costa Rica, India, and PR China have increased their forested areas in recent decades [76], several other countries still experience ongoing deforestation issues [77]. Ecological restoration projects in Global South nations must integrate water balance to prevent exacerbating water shortages and ensure long-term sustainability, particularly in the face of rapidly changing climate conditions [67; 78]. Hence, it is crucial for researchers and practitioners from different regions, especially from less researched countries, to collaborate effectively and develop sustainable, evidence-based forest-management policies. In our results, researchers from China, Spain, Italy, the USA, Australia, and Switzerland are playing their leading role in research productivity and collaboration on forest WUE and climate change research (Table S5). This might be due to strong academic institutions, funding, international partnerships, and the urgent need to address climate impacts on forest ecosystems. In this research, the top 20 co-citation journals all come from North America and Europe (Tables S4 and S5). One of the major challenges is the lack of data on how climate variability affects forest and carbon-water dynamics [79], especially in developing countries and the Global South [80; 81]. Furthermore, a recent worldwide scientometric analysis utilized a set of 17,006 articles in forest hydrology, predominantly centered on online data sources published in English [46], with data in other languages frequently excluded in prominent research because of limited frequencies and instrumental constraints. Although the open access option in journals facilitates readers in accessing high-quality research easily, the corresponding author or institution must cover the costs of open access charges for the journal. The costs associated with publishing in top-tier journals can be prohibitively expensive, potentially costing thousands of dollars, which makes it difficult to share valuable research widely, especially in unexplored research areas within this field.