2026 David Tilman: Ecology and Evolution Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Best Scientists	182	559	514	359	324	399	253543
Ecology and Evolution	185	5	5	2	2	408	259081

Research.com Recognitions

2026 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in United States Leader Award
2025 - Research.com Best Scientists Award
2025 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in United States Leader Award
2022 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in United States Leader Award
2017 - Fellow of the Royal Society, United Kingdom
2014 - International Balzan Prize
2014 - BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award
2014 - Ramon Margalef Prize in Ecology, Generalitat de Catalunya
2012 - Fellow of the Ecological Society of America (ESA)
2002 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences
1989 - William S. Cooper Award, The Ecological Society of America Plant strategies and the dynamics and structure of plant communities . Princeton University Press, 1988
1985 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Honorary Member of the British Ecological Society
Honorary Member of the British Ecological Society
Honorary Member of the British Ecological Society

Overview

David Tilman is affiliated with the University of Minnesota in the United States. Their research primarily focuses on environmental science and agricultural and biological sciences, with a strong emphasis on nature and landscape conservation as well as ecology. The subfields of study they contribute to include ecology, ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics, global and planetary change, and ecological modeling.

The main topics covered in David Tilman's work include:

Ecology and vegetation dynamics studies
Plant and animal studies
Agriculture sustainability and environmental impact
Species distribution and climate change
Agronomic practices and intercropping systems
Ecosystem dynamics and resilience
Rangeland and wildlife management

Frequent co-authors in their publications include Forest Isbell, Peter B. Reich, Michael Clark, Nico Eisenhauer, and Jason Hill.

Their work has been published predominantly in the following venues:

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Science
Ecology
Ecology Letters
Journal of Ecology

Recent papers authored or co-authored by David Tilman are:

Global food system emissions could preclude achieving the 1.5° and 2°C climate change targets, 2020, Science
Long-term increased grain yield and soil fertility from intercropping, 2021, Nature Sustainability
Estimating the environmental impacts of 57,000 food products, 2022, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Climate change exacerbates the environmental impacts of agriculture, 2024, Science
Proactive conservation to prevent habitat losses to agricultural expansion, 2020, Nature Sustainability

Throughout their career, David Tilman has received several awards and honors, including:

Fellow of the Royal Society, United Kingdom, 2017
BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award, 2014
Ramon Margalef Prize in Ecology, Generalitat de Catalunya, 2014
International Balzan Prize, 2014
Fellow of the Ecological Society of America (ESA), 2012
Member of the National Academy of Sciences, 2002
William S. Cooper Award, The Ecological Society of America, 1989
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 1985
Honorary Member of the British Ecological Society

Best Publications

Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems

Walter Willett;Johan Rockström;Johan Rockström;Brent Loken;Marco Springmann

10402
Citations
Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices

David Tilman;Kenneth G. Cassman;Pamela A. Matson;Pamela A. Matson;Rosamond L. Naylor

9954
Citations
Solutions for a cultivated planet

Jonathan A. Foley;Navin Ramankutty;Kate A. Brauman;Emily S. Cassidy

9354
Citations
Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity

Bradley J. Cardinale;J. Emmett Duffy;Andrew Gonzalez;David U. Hooper

8449
Citations
Global food demand and the sustainable intensification of agriculture

David Tilman;Christian Balzer;Jason Hill;Belinda L. Befort

8414
Citations
Resource Competition and Community Structure. (MPB-17), Volume 17

David Tilman

8202
Citations
HUMAN ALTERATION OF THE GLOBAL NITROGEN CYCLE: SOURCES AND CONSEQUENCES

Peter M. Vitousek;John D. Aber;Robert W. Howarth;Gene E. Likens

7963
Citations
Resource competition and community structure

David Tilman

7800
Citations
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Current Knowledge and Future Challenges

M. Loreau;S. Naeem;P. Inchausti;J. Bengtsson

5929
Citations
The metacommunity concept: a framework for multi-scale community ecology

M. A. Leibold;M. Holyoak;N. Mouquet;N. Mouquet;P. Amarasekare

5892
Citations
Land Clearing and the Biofuel Carbon Debt

Joseph Fargione;Jason Hill;David Tilman;Stephen Polasky

5261
Citations
Forecasting agriculturally driven global environmental change

David Tilman;Joseph Fargione;Brian Wolff;Carla D'Antonio

5116
Citations
The Influence of Functional Diversity and Composition on Ecosystem Processes

David Tilman;Johannes Knops;David Wedin;Peter Reich

4172
Citations
Plant Strategies and the Dynamics and Structure of Plant Communities. (MPB-26), Volume 26

David Tilman

4133
Citations
Eutrophication: impacts of excess nutrient inputs on freshwater, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems

V.H. Smith;G.D. Tilman;J.C. Nekola

4035
Citations
Environmental, economic, and energetic costs and benefits of biodiesel and ethanol biofuels

Jason D Hill;Erik Nelson;David Tilman;Stephen Polasky

4005
Citations
Productivity and sustainability influenced by biodiversity in grassland ecosystems

David Tilman;David Wedin;Johannes Knops

3804
Citations
Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health

David Tilman;Michael Clark

3718
Citations
Biodiversity and stability in grasslands

David Tilman;John A. Downing

3622
Citations
Plant Strategies and the Dynamics and Structure of Plant Communities.

David Tilman

3620
Citations
Habitat destruction and the extinction debt

David Tilman;Robert M. May;Clarence L. Lehman;Martin A. Nowak

3421
Citations
Resource Competition and Community Structure.

J. L. Harper;D. Tilman

572
Citations
Resource Competition and Community Structure

M. P. Hassell;David Tilman

111
Citations

Frequent Co-Authors

Peter B. Reich University of Minnesota

Johannes M. H. Knops Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Forest Isbell University of Minnesota

Shahid Naeem Columbia University

David A. Wedin University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Stephen Polasky University of Minnesota

Joseph Fargione The Nature Conservancy

Michel Loreau Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS

Nico Eisenhauer Leipzig University

Dario A. Fornara Davines Group

External Links

Wikipedia of David Tilman Personal website of David Tilman

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