World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
David Whitehead

David Whitehead

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Environmental Sciences
New Zealand
2026
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Plant Science and Agronomy
New Zealand
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Plant Science and Agronomy

D-Index
76
Citations
17275
World Ranking
515
National Ranking
3

Environmental Sciences

D-Index
78
Citations
18515
World Ranking
1086
National Ranking
2

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in New Zealand Leader Award
  • 2026 - Research.com Plant Science and Agronomy in New Zealand Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Plant Science and Agronomy in New Zealand Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Plant Science and Agronomy in New Zealand Leader Award
  • 2012 - Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand
  • 1999 - Member of the Royal Irish Academy

Overview

What is he best known for?

The fields of study he is best known for:

  • Ecology
  • Botany
  • Ecosystem

David Whitehead spends much of his time researching Botany, Pinus radiata, Respiration, Photosynthesis and Canopy. His study in Botany is interdisciplinary in nature, drawing from both Agronomy and Horticulture. His work focuses on many connections between Pinus radiata and other disciplines, such as Stomatal conductance, that overlap with his field of interest in Water balance.

He has included themes like Acclimatization, Carbon dioxide, Photosynthetic acclimation and Deciduous in his Respiration study. Photosynthesis connects with themes related to Nitrogen cycle in his study. His research investigates the connection between Xylem and topics such as Transpiration that intersect with issues in Ecology.

His most cited work include:

  • The knowns, known unknowns and unknowns of sequestration of soil organic carbon (710 citations)
  • Physiological regulation of productivity and water use in Eucalyptus: a review (276 citations)
  • The relationship between tree height and leaf area: sapwood area ratio. (255 citations)

What are the main themes of his work throughout his whole career to date?

His primary scientific interests are in Botany, Photosynthesis, Canopy, Agronomy and Horticulture. His study in Pinus radiata, Stomatal conductance, Respiration, Deciduous and Woody plant is carried out as part of his studies in Botany. Many of his research projects under Photosynthesis are closely connected to Shading with Shading, tying the diverse disciplines of science together.

His biological study spans a wide range of topics, including Rainforest, Dacrydium cupressinum and Leaf area index. David Whitehead interconnects Soil water, Cytisus scoparius and Tree canopy in the investigation of issues within Agronomy. As part of the same scientific family, David Whitehead usually focuses on Ecology, concentrating on Carbon sequestration and intersecting with Carbon sink.

He most often published in these fields:

  • Botany (51.59%)
  • Photosynthesis (25.40%)
  • Canopy (22.22%)

What were the highlights of his more recent work (between 2014-2021)?

  • Soil water (15.87%)
  • Agronomy (22.22%)
  • Soil carbon (13.49%)

In recent papers he was focusing on the following fields of study:

His main research concerns Soil water, Agronomy, Soil carbon, Environmental chemistry and Grazing. His Soil carbon research is multidisciplinary, incorporating elements of Soil organic matter, Total organic carbon and Soil depth. His biological study spans a wide range of topics, including Carbon dioxide, Nitrate and Ecosystem.

David Whitehead has included themes like Photosynthesis and Isotopes of carbon in his Ecosystem study. His Productivity study combines topics from a wide range of disciplines, such as Botany, Pinus radiata, Juvenile, Water-use efficiency and Biomass partitioning. As part of his research on Soil respiration, studies on Respiration and Ecology are part of the effort.

Between 2014 and 2021, his most popular works were:

  • Put more carbon in soils to meet Paris climate pledges (44 citations)
  • The 4p1000 initiative: Opportunities, limitations and challenges for implementing soil organic carbon sequestration as a sustainable development strategy (38 citations)
  • Management practices to reduce losses or increase soil carbon stocks in temperate grazed grasslands: New Zealand as a case study (28 citations)

In his most recent research, the most cited papers focused on:

  • Ecology
  • Botany
  • Ecosystem

His scientific interests lie mostly in Soil water, Agronomy, Soil carbon, Environmental protection and Food security. The study incorporates disciplines such as Photosynthesis, Mesocosm, Isotopes of carbon, Soil respiration and Environmental chemistry in addition to Agronomy. Soil respiration is a subfield of Respiration that David Whitehead studies.

His Soil carbon research incorporates elements of Humus, Soil organic matter, Soil structure, Ecosystem respiration and Ecosystem. In Environmental protection, David Whitehead works on issues like Minimum tillage, which are connected to Greenhouse gas. His studies deal with areas such as Sustainable development, Climate change and Environmental planning as well as Food security.

Best Publications

  • The knowns, known unknowns and unknowns of sequestration of soil organic carbon

    Uta Stockmann;Mark A. Adams;John W. Crawford;Damien J. Field

  • Physiological regulation of productivity and water use in Eucalyptus: a review

    David Whitehead;Christopher L. Beadle

  • Conducting sapwood area, foliage area, and permeability in mature trees of Piceasitchensis and Pinuscontorta

    D. Whitehead;W. R. N. Edwards;P. G. Jarvis

  • Regulation of stomatal conductance and transpiration in forest canopies

    David Whitehead

  • The relationship between tree height and leaf area: sapwood area ratio.

    N. Mcdowell;H. Barnard;B. J. Bond;T. Hinckley

  • Soil Security: Solving the Global Soil Crisis

    Andrea Koch;Alex McBratney;Mark Adams;Damien Field

  • The 4p1000 initiative: Opportunities, limitations and challenges for implementing soil organic carbon sequestration as a sustainable development strategy

    Cornelia Rumpel;Farshad Amiraslani;Claire Chenu;Magaly García Cardenas

  • The contribution of stored water to transpiration in Scots pine

    R. H. Waring;D. Whitehead;P. G. Jarvis

  • A model to predict transformations and losses of nitrogen in UK pastures grazed by beef-cattle

    D. Scholefield;D. R. Lockyer;D. C. Whitehead;K. C. Tyson

  • Nitrogenous constituents in the urine of cattle, sheep and goats

    Unknown

  • Stomatal conductance, transpiration, and resistance to water uptake in a Pinussylvestris spacing experiment

    D. Whitehead;P. G. Jarvis;R. H. Waring

  • The response of photosynthetic model parameters to temperature and nitrogen concentration in Pinus radiata D. Don

    A. S. Walcroft;D. Whitehead;W. B. Silvester;F. M. Kelliher

  • Put more carbon in soils to meet Paris climate pledges

    Cornelia Rumpel;Farshad Amiraslani;Lydie-Stella Koutika;Pete Smith

  • Effects of biological invasions on forest carbon sequestration

    D. A. Peltzer;R. B. Allen;G. M. Lovett;D. Whitehead

  • The Role of Nitrogen in Grassland Productivity

    Unknown

  • The Estimation of Foliage Area from Sapwood Basal Area in Scots Pine

    Unknown

  • Seasonal Changes in Stable Carbon Isotope Ratios within Annual Rings of Pinus radiata Reflect Environmental Regulation of Growth Processes

    A. S. Walcroft;W. B. Silvester;D. Whitehead;F. M. Kelliher

  • Plant growth in elevated CO2 alters mitochondrial number and chloroplast fine structure.

    Kevin L. Griffin;O. Roger Anderson;Mary D. Gastrich;James D. Lewis

  • Responses of leaf respiration to temperature and leaf characteristics in three deciduous tree species vary with site water availability

    Matthew H Turnbull;David Whitehead;David T Tissue;William S. F Schuster

  • Carbon partitioning in Pinus radiata stands in relation to foliage nitrogen status.

    Peter N. Beets;David Whitehead

  • Above-ground biomass accumulation and nitrogen fixation of broom (Cytisus scoparius L.) growing with juvenile Pinus radiata on a dryland site

    Michael S. Watt;Peter W. Clinton;David Whitehead;Brian Richardson

  • Long-term carbon exchange in a sparse, seasonally dry tussock grassland

    John E. Hunt;Francis M. Kelliher;Tony M. McSeveny;Des J. Ross

  • Thermal acclimation of leaf respiration but not photosynthesis in Populus deltoides×nigra

    Lai Fern Ow;Kevin L. Griffin;David Whitehead;Adrian S. Walcroft

  • Sap flow rates and sapwood density are critical factors in within‐ and between‐tree variation in CO2 efflux from stems of mature Dacrydium cupressinum trees

    William P. Bowman;Margaret M. Barbour;Matthew H. Turnbull;David T. Tissue

  • Response of total night-time respiration to differences in total daily photosynthesis for leaves in a Quercus rubra L. canopy: implications for modelling canopy CO2 exchange

    David Whitehead;Kevin L. Griffin;Matthew H. Turnbull;David T. Tissue

  • Implications of albedo changes following afforestation on the benefits of forests as carbon sinks

    M. U. F. Kirschbaum;D. Whitehead;S. M. Dean;P. N. Beets

  • Response of transpiration and photosynthesis to a transient change in illuminated foliage area for a Pinus radiata D. Don tree

    D. Whitehead;N. J. Livingston;P.M. Kelliher;K. P. Hogan

  • CLIMATE AND NET CARBON AVAILABILITY DETERMINE TEMPORAL PATTERNS OF SEED PRODUCTION BY NOTHOFAGUS

    Sarah J. Richardson;Robert B. Allen;David Whitehead;Fiona E. Carswell

Frequent Co-Authors

Matthew H. Turnbull
Matthew H. Turnbull University of Canterbury
David T. Tissue
David T. Tissue Western Sydney University
Kevin L. Griffin
Kevin L. Griffin Columbia University
John E. Hunt
John E. Hunt Landcare Research
Peter Millard
Peter Millard Landcare Research
Margaret M. Barbour
Margaret M. Barbour University of Sydney
Duane A. Peltzer
Duane A. Peltzer Landcare Research
Keith C. Cameron
Keith C. Cameron Lincoln University

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