Growth and diffusion of the planetary boundaries concept
Abstract
Planetary boundaries is an Earth systems science concept that aims to comprehensively assess human-caused disturbances on the planet. First developed in 2009, the basic premise is that there are thresholds for a series of Earth systems—such as ocean acidification, freshwater depletion, and climate change—that, if crossed, will cause abrupt and potentially catastrophic environmental change. As such, planetary boundaries is useful to frame sustainability objectives and practices. This review investigates the scholarly diffusion of planetary boundaries. How did it take off and spread? Using academic databases, I trace the growth of the concept over time, by the geographic location of scholars, as well as their disciplinary affiliations. Using citation counts, the most influential papers that have diffused the concept are identified. Moreover, the temporal expansion of planetary boundaries is compared to older, well-established sustainability concepts. The results indicate that the planetary boundaries concept has penetrated a wide variety of different academic disciplines, although such research is predominantly European. Fewer studies currently involve planetary boundaries compared to the related sustainability concepts Anthropocene and ecological footprint; however, the growth rate of planetary boundaries research is comparable to trends when those concepts were new. Most research that addresses planetary boundaries uses it as a background idea to frame their research questions. Although quantitatively fewer, some research studies continuously assess and refine the planetary boundary concept itself.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Ola Johansson

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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