# Advancements in Phytoremediation Research in South Africa (1997-2022)
## 3 Results and Discussion  
### Major Information and Publication Trend  
Key information on phytoremediation-related research in South Africa retrieved from WoS is shown in Table 1. We used WoS because it is one of the most popular databases for bibliometric analysis [32; 33]. The 39 documents pulled from WoS were published in 30 sources by 112 authors. The average number of citations per document was 22.31, while the average age of documents was 7.82. Authors' collaboration indicated that co-authors per document were 3.54, while international co-authorship was 41.03%, consisting of 2198 references in the retrieved documents. The total keywords plus and the authors' keywords recognized in these documents are 200 and 141, respectively. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c} \hline \hline
**Description** & **Results** \\ \hline Timespan & 1997:2022 \\ Sources (Journals, Books, etc.) & 30 \\ Documents & 39 \\ Annual Growth Rate \% & 4.49 \\ Document Average Age & 7.82 \\ Average Citations Per Doc & 22.31 \\ References & 2198 \\ DOCUMENT CONTENTS & \\ Keywords Plus (ID) & 200 \\ Authors’ Keywords (DE) & 141 \\ AUTHORS & Authors \\ Authors of Single-Authored Docs & 1 \\ AUTHORS COLLABORATION & \\ Single-Authored Docs & 1 \\ Co-Authors Per Doc & 3.54 \\ International Co-Authorships \% & 41.03 \\ DOCUMENT TYPES & Article \\ Article & 25 \\ Article; Proceedings Paper & 3 \\ Correction & 1 \\ Meeting Abstract & 3 \\ Review & 6 \\ Review; Book Chapter & 1 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Main information on phytoremediation-related research in South Africa. The first paper on phytoremediation-related research in South Africa that was published in the WoS database focused on the potential of _Berkhya coddii_ for the phytoextraction of nickel by [PERSON] et al. (2019). From the 2000s, the number of publications started increasing, while a major increase occurred in 2019 when phytoremediation technology was proven to be a sustainable and ecologically friendly remediation approach in terms of its efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and potential for long-term environmental restoration--Figure 1. The annual growth rate is 4.49%, which signals a slow positive trend in phytoremediation-related research, and scientists in South Africa have not made significant contributions in this field over time. Notwithstanding, their work is published in quality journals that are indexed in WoS. The data in this article may perhaps not signify the entire published document on the subject matter in the field. The low number of documents may be attributed to the attitude of some researchers who do not worry about the quality of the journal and/or bother to confirm the journal is indexed in PubMed, Scopus, or WoS database before publishing their work. Perhaps this is a result of the desire to submit articles to journals where they will quickly be accepted for publication, not taking into account how visible their papers would be to other researchers. In addition, the annual list of accredited journals from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) might have contributed to the low research output. A researcher might publish in a journal that is DHET accredited this year and removed the following year from the DHET list and tagged as a predatory journal. These, among others, might be responsible for the low research output recorded in this study. Similarly, the average total citations per year analyzed showed fluctuations in citation pattern, and the highest citation was observed in the year 2022. Several factors can influence the citation of an article. Examples of such are free or paid access journals and years of publications. It is assumed that citation is a reflection of the quality or impact of research ([PERSON], 2019). However, citations of an article do not determine the quality of the article. It is normal for older papers to receive more citations than more recent ones. Papers in open access make their content widely accessible to other scholars and thus receive more citations than those in paid access.