Synthesis has become ubiquitous in ecology. Despite its widespread application to a broad range of research topics, it remains unclear how synthesis has affected the discipline. Using a case study of publications (n = 2304) from the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis compared with papers with similar keywords from the Web of Science (n = 320,000), we address several questions about the comparative impact of synthesis, the role of synthesis in driving key research themes, and whether synthesis is focused on different topics than is the broader ecological literature. We found much higher citation rates for synthesis papers overall (fivefold more) and within eleven key topic themes (e.g., species richness, biodiversity, climate change, global change). Synthesis papers often played key roles in driving, redirecting, or resolving core questions and exhibited much greater cross-theme connectivity. Together, these results indicate that synthesis in science has played a crucial role in accelerating and advancing ecological knowledge.

中文翻译：

---

生态综合及其在促进知识中的作用

合成在生态学中无处不在。尽管它广泛应用于广泛的研究主题，但目前尚不清楚综合如何影响该学科。使用国家生态分析与综合中心的出版物 (n = 2304) 与来自 Web of Science 的具有相似关键字的论文 (n = 320,000) 进行比较的案例研究，我们解决了关于综合的比较影响、作用综合在推动关键研究主题方面的重要性，以及综合是否侧重于与更广泛的生态文献不同的主题。我们发现综合论文的整体引用率要高得多（五倍以上），并且在 11 个关键主题（例如，物种丰富度、生物多样性、气候变化、全球变化）内。综合论文通常在推动、重定向、或解决核心问题并表现出更大的跨主题连接性。总之，这些结果表明科学综合在加速和推进生态知识方面发挥了关键作用。