Data for: Five decades of biogeography: A view from the Journal of Biogeography

Since the first issue of Journal of Biogeography (JBI) was published in 1974, the discipline and its eponymous journal have grown in scope and consequence. On this 50th anniversary of the journal, we reflect on changes in biogeography and publishing, describe trends of the past five decades, and present lists of the 50 most-cited articles from JBI's back catalogue. We describe current initiatives intended to chart a course for continued success in the coming 50 years, during what may well be a period of global biogeographic crises.