Environmental Indicator Plants in Mountain Forests: A Review

Plant indicators are important in studies related to the environment, and mountain forests are rich in such plants. We conducted this study using the Web of Science Core Collection tools and the VOSviewer program combined with a classic review, based on the specialty literature. The topic of indicator plants in mountain forests has been (the first article published in a prestigious journal dates back to 1980) and remains relevant (after 2015, between 40 and 60 articles were published annually), with the total number of publications found being 665 articles and 22 review articles. These publications were authored by researchers from 96 countries, the most representative being the USA, China, and Germany (which also have large areas of mountain forests), and were published in 306 journals, with the most important being Ecological Indicators, Forest Ecology and Management, Forests, Journal of Vegetation Science, and Plant Ecology. They belong to the main scientific fields of Ecology, Forestry, Plant Sciences, and Environmental Sciences. The most frequently used keywords are vegetation, diversity, biodiversity, and forests. Their evolution over the past decade shows that the focus has shifted from keywords specific to this topic to those related to biodiversity and conservation, and more recently to climate change. Indicator plants in mountain forests are extremely varied but can be used successfully in the monitoring activity. Climatic conditions or human interventions lead to the dynamic of these indicator plants.