2026 Kanehiro Kitayama: Plant Science and Agronomy Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Plant Science and Agronomy	55	1603	1467	48	48	184	12095
Ecology and Evolution	55	2954	2833	8	7	200	12724

Research.com Recognitions

2026 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Japan Leader Award
2025 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Japan Leader Award
2023 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Japan Leader Award
2022 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Japan Leader Award

Overview

Kanehiro Kitayama is affiliated with Kyoto University in Japan and has contributed extensively to the fields of Agricultural and Biological Sciences and Environmental Science. Their research spans several subfields, including Nature and Landscape Conservation, Soil Science, Plant Science, Global and Planetary Change, and Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics.

Their main research topics cover Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies, Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics, Plant and Animal Studies, Forest Ecology and Management, Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions, Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management, as well as Phytase and its Applications.

Kitayama has published in a variety of scientific journals and venues. Frequent publication venues include Plant and Soil, Journal of Forest Research, Ecological Research, Research Square, and New Phytologist.

Recent papers authored or co-authored by Kitayama illustrate the range of topics addressed in their research:

Temperature is a dominant driver of distinct annual seasonality of leaf litter production of equatorial tropical rain forests, 2020, Journal of Ecology
Does the ratio of β-1,4-glucosidase to β-1,4-N-acetylglucosaminidase indicate the relative resource allocation of soil microbes to C and N acquisition?, 2021, Soil Biology and Biochemistry
A cost-benefit analysis of leaf carbon economy with consideration of seasonal changes in leaf traits for sympatric deciduous and evergreen congeners: implications for their coexistence, 2022, New Phytologist
Phosphorus allocation to and resorption from leaves regulate the residence time of phosphorus in above-ground forest biomass on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo, 2020, Functional Ecology
A constant microbial C/N ratio mediates the microbial nitrogen mineralization induced by root exudation among four co-existing canopy species, 2021, Rhizosphere

Collaboration is a significant aspect of Kitayama's work. Frequent co-authors include:

Ryota Aoyagi
Shin-ichiro Aiba
Nobuo Imai
Yusuke Onoda
Rota Wagai

Kitayama's body of work provides insight into complex ecological interactions, particularly in soil microbial activity, nutrient dynamics, and forest ecology. Their expertise connects multiple disciplines, reflecting an integrated approach to studying environmental and biological systems.

Best Publications

Changes in soil phosphorus fractions and ecosystem dynamics across a long chronosequence in Hawaii.

Timothy E. Crews;Kanehiro Kitayama;James H. Fownes;Ralph H. Riley

1034
Citations
An altitudinal transect study of the vegetation on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo

K. Kitayama

507
Citations
Ecosystem structure and productivity of tropical rain forests along altitudinal gradients with contrasting soil phosphorus pools on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo

Kanehiro Kitayama;Shin-Ichiro Aiba

477
Citations
Structure, composition and species diversity in an altitude-substrate matrix of rain forest tree communities on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo

Shin-ichiro Aiba;Kanehiro Kitayama

467
Citations
An estimate of the number of tropical tree species

J. W. Ferry Slik;Víctor Arroyo-Rodríguez;Shin-Ichiro Aiba;Patricia Alvarez-Loayza

440
Citations
Diversity and carbon storage across the tropical forest biome

Martin J. P. Sullivan;Joey Talbot;Simon L. Lewis;Simon L. Lewis;Oliver L. Phillips

414
Citations
Integrated global assessment of the natural forest carbon potential

Unknown

379
Citations
Temperature Influences Carbon Accumulation in Moist Tropical Forests

James W. Raich;Ann E. Russell;Kanehiro Kitayama;William J. Parton

377
Citations
Environmental correlates of tree biomass, basal area, wood specific gravity and stem density gradients in Borneo's tropical forests

J.W.F. Slik;Shin Ichiro Aiba;Francis Q. Brearley;Chuck H. Cannon;Chuck H. Cannon

377
Citations
Long-term thermal sensitivity of Earth’s tropical forests

Martin J.P. Sullivan;Martin J.P. Sullivan;Simon L. Lewis;Simon L. Lewis;Kofi Affum-Baffoe;Carolina Castilho

330
Citations
Foliar Nutrients During Long-Term Soil Development in Hawaiian Montane Rain Forest

Peter M. Vitousek;Douglas R. Turner;Kanehiro Kitayama;Kanehiro Kitayama

240
Citations
Variations in the soil microbial community composition of a tropical montane forest ecosystem: Does tree species matter?

Masayuki Ushio;Rota Wagai;Teri C. Balser;Kanehiro Kitayama

227
Citations
Nature of the “occluded” low-density fraction in soil organic matter studies: A critical review

Rota Wagai;Lawrence M. Mayer;Kanehiro Kitayama

214
Citations
Allocation of foliar phosphorus fractions and leaf traits of tropical tree species in response to decreased soil phosphorus availability on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo

Amane Hidaka;Kanehiro Kitayama

195
Citations
Long-term carbon sink in Borneo’s forests halted by drought and vulnerable to edge effects

Lan Qie;Lan Qie;Simon L. Lewis;Simon L. Lewis;Martin J.P. Sullivan;Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez

188
Citations
Effects of topography on tropical lower montane forests under different geological conditions on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo

Masaaki Takyu;Shin-Ichiro Aiba;Kanehiro Kitayama

181
Citations
Divergent patterns of photosynthetic phosphorus-use efficiency versus nitrogen-use efficiency of tree leaves along nutrient-availability gradients.

Amane Hidaka;Kanehiro Kitayama

175
Citations
Taking the pulse of Earth's tropical forests using networks of highly distributed plots

Cecilia Blundo;Julieta Carilla;Ricardo Grau

164
Citations
Importance of natural licks for the mammals in Bornean inland tropical rain forests

Hisashi Matsubayashi;Hisashi Matsubayashi;Peter Lagan;Noreen Majalap;Joseph Tangah

157
Citations
Soil phosphorus fractionation and phosphorus-use efficiencies of tropical rainforests along altitudinal gradients of Mount Kinabalu, Borneo

K. Kitayama;N. Majalap-Lee;S.-I. Aiba

156
Citations
Primary succession of Hawaiian montane rain forest on a chronosequence of eight lava flows

Kanehiro Kitayama;Dieter Mueller-Dombois;Peter M. Vitousek

146
Citations
Climate and parent material controls on organic matter storage in surface soils: A three-pool, density-separation approach

Rota Wagai;Rota Wagai;Lawrence M. Mayer;Kanehiro Kitayama;Heike Knicker

145
Citations
Tree species effects on soil enzyme activities through effects on soil physicochemical and microbial properties in a tropical montane forest on Mt. Kinabalu, Borneo.

Masayuki Ushio;Kanehiro Kitayama;Teri C. Balser

131
Citations
Association of organic matter with iron and aluminum across a range of soils determined via selective dissolution techniques coupled with dissolved nitrogen analysis

Rota Wagai;Lawrence M. Mayer;Kanehiro Kitayama;Yasuhito Shirato

131
Citations