World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Keith D. Shepherd

Keith D. Shepherd

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Plant Science and Agronomy
Kenya
2025
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Environmental Sciences
Kenya
2023

D-Index & Metrics

Environmental Sciences

D-Index
56
Citations
16259
World Ranking
3576
National Ranking
2

Plant Science and Agronomy

D-Index
54
Citations
15810
World Ranking
1661
National Ranking
4

Keith D. Shepherd publication distribution in Plant Science and Agronomy in 2026

The chart shows the distribution of publications by all Research.com ranked scientists in the field of Plant Science and Agronomy in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Keith D. Shepherd sits on this spectrum.

36–40 publications: 2 scientists 41–45 publications: 7 scientists 46–50 publications: 40 scientists 51–55 publications: 58 scientists 56–60 publications: 60 scientists 61–65 publications: 107 scientists 66–70 publications: 130 scientists 71–75 publications: 153 scientists 76–80 publications: 191 scientists 81–85 publications: 199 scientists 86–90 publications: 206 scientists 91–95 publications: 218 scientists 96–100 publications: 226 scientists 101–105 publications: 227 scientists 106–110 publications: 247 scientists 111–115 publications: 255 scientists 116–120 publications: 253 scientists 121–125 publications: 233 scientists 126–130 publications: 219 scientists 131–135 publications: 201 scientists 136–140 publications: 194 scientists 141–145 publications: 176 scientists 146–150 publications: 157 scientists 151–155 publications: 147 scientists 156–160 publications: 151 scientists 161–165 publications: 159 scientists 166–170 publications: 137 scientists 171–175 publications: 128 scientists 176–180 publications: 126 scientists 181–185 publications: 98 scientists 186–190 publications: 114 scientists 191–195 publications: 100 scientists 196–200 publications: 90 scientists 201–205 publications: 71 scientists 206–210 publications: 98 scientists 211–215 publications: 70 scientists 216–220 publications: 86 scientists 221–225 publications: 61 scientists 226–230 publications: 58 scientists 231–235 publications: 53 scientists 236–240 publications: 64 scientists 241–245 publications: 39 scientists 246–250 publications: 46 scientists 251–255 publications: 51 scientists 256–260 publications: 36 scientists 261–265 publications: 44 scientists 266–270 publications: 35 scientists 271–275 publications: 30 scientists 276–280 publications: 33 scientists 281–285 publications: 35 scientists 286–290 publications: 36 scientists 291–295 publications: 26 scientists 296–300 publications: 26 scientists 301–305 publications: 31 scientists 306–310 publications: 30 scientists 311–315 publications: 21 scientists 316–320 publications: 29 scientists 321–325 publications: 14 scientists 326–330 publications: 15 scientists 331–335 publications: 15 scientists 336–340 publications: 17 scientists 341–345 publications: 15 scientists 346–350 publications: 12 scientists 351–355 publications: 17 scientists 356–360 publications: 18 scientists 361–365 publications: 12 scientists 366–370 publications: 11 scientists 371–375 publications: 6 scientists 376–380 publications: 6 scientists 381–385 publications: 11 scientists 386–390 publications: 9 scientists 391–395 publications: 10 scientists 396–400 publications: 8 scientists 401–405 publications: 4 scientists 406–410 publications: 9 scientists 411–415 publications: 11 scientists 416–420 publications: 4 scientists 421–425 publications: 7 scientists 426–430 publications: 4 scientists 431–435 publications: 3 scientists 436–440 publications: 5 scientists 441–445 publications: 8 scientists 446–450 publications: 6 scientists 451–455 publications: 7 scientists 456–460 publications: 5 scientists 461–465 publications: 6 scientists 466 publications: 2 scientists 467+ publications: 99 scientists
36 publications 467+

This scientist: 152 publications — 59th percentile

59% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 467 publications or more.

Keith D. Shepherd D-index placement in Plant Science and Agronomy in 2026

The chart shows the D-index (discipline H-index) distribution of Plant Science and Agronomy scientists ranked by Research.com in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Keith D. Shepherd sits on this spectrum.

30 D-Index: 200 scientists 31 D-Index: 236 scientists 32 D-Index: 253 scientists 33 D-Index: 283 scientists 34 D-Index: 288 scientists 35 D-Index: 240 scientists 36 D-Index: 246 scientists 37 D-Index: 243 scientists 38 D-Index: 247 scientists 39 D-Index: 229 scientists 40 D-Index: 232 scientists 41 D-Index: 230 scientists 42 D-Index: 228 scientists 43 D-Index: 219 scientists 44 D-Index: 193 scientists 45 D-Index: 164 scientists 46 D-Index: 158 scientists 47 D-Index: 143 scientists 48 D-Index: 131 scientists 49 D-Index: 127 scientists 50 D-Index: 122 scientists 51 D-Index: 122 scientists 52 D-Index: 110 scientists 53 D-Index: 102 scientists 54 D-Index: 98 scientists 55 D-Index: 79 scientists 56 D-Index: 85 scientists 57 D-Index: 88 scientists 58 D-Index: 91 scientists 59 D-Index: 62 scientists 60 D-Index: 61 scientists 61 D-Index: 59 scientists 62 D-Index: 54 scientists 63 D-Index: 61 scientists 64 D-Index: 59 scientists 65 D-Index: 58 scientists 66 D-Index: 41 scientists 67 D-Index: 49 scientists 68 D-Index: 39 scientists 69 D-Index: 32 scientists 70 D-Index: 40 scientists 71 D-Index: 47 scientists 72 D-Index: 38 scientists 73 D-Index: 28 scientists 74 D-Index: 29 scientists 75 D-Index: 28 scientists 76 D-Index: 22 scientists 77 D-Index: 21 scientists 78 D-Index: 25 scientists 79 D-Index: 26 scientists 80 D-Index: 19 scientists 81 D-Index: 16 scientists 82 D-Index: 12 scientists 83 D-Index: 16 scientists 84 D-Index: 14 scientists 85 D-Index: 11 scientists 86 D-Index: 17 scientists 87 D-Index: 13 scientists 88 D-Index: 10 scientists 89 D-Index: 12 scientists 90 D-Index: 18 scientists 91 D-Index: 16 scientists 92 D-Index: 16 scientists 93 D-Index: 17 scientists 94 D-Index: 12 scientists 95 D-Index: 8 scientists 96 D-Index: 9 scientists 97 D-Index: 9 scientists 98 D-Index: 11 scientists 99 D-Index: 12 scientists 100 D-Index: 5 scientists 101 D-Index: 8 scientists 102 D-Index: 4 scientists 103 D-Index: 11 scientists 104 D-Index: 5 scientists 105 D-Index: 9 scientists 106 D-Index: 7 scientists 107 D-Index: 4 scientists 108 D-Index: 8 scientists 109+ D-Index: 99 scientists
30 D-Index 109+

This scientist: 54 D-Index — 75th percentile

75% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 109 D-Index or more.

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2025 - Research.com Plant Science and Agronomy in Kenya Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in Kenya Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in Kenya Leader Award

Overview

Keith D. Shepherd is affiliated with the World Agroforestry Centre in Kenya, where their research focuses primarily on environmental and agricultural sciences. They have contributed extensively to the study of soil properties, nutrient dynamics, and geostatistical mapping, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

Their recent publications highlight a range of topics in soil science, environmental engineering, and artificial intelligence applications in agriculture. Key papers include:

  • "African soil properties and nutrients mapped at 30 m spatial resolution using two-scale ensemble machine learning" (2021) published in Scientific Reports
  • "What is a good level of soil organic matter? An index based on organic carbon to clay ratio" (2020) published in European Journal of Soil Science
  • "Continental-scale controls on soil organic carbon across sub-Saharan Africa" (2021) published in SOIL
  • "Mineral-nutrient relationships in African soils assessed using cluster analysis of X-ray powder diffraction patterns and compositional methods" (2020) published in Geoderma
  • "A global soil spectral calibration library and estimation service" (2022) published in Soil Security

Frequent coauthors collaborating with Keith D. Shepherd include Andrew Sila, S. P. McGrath, Stephan M. Haefele, Ermias Aynekulu, and Yufeng Ge.

Publication venues in which they have frequently contributed encompass:

  • Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
  • PLoS ONE
  • World Agroforestry Centre - ICRAF Dataverse
  • European Journal of Soil Science
  • Scientific Reports

Their research spans multiple fields and subfields, most notably:

  • Environmental Science
  • Agricultural and Biological Sciences

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Soil Science
  • Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
  • Global and Planetary Change

Keith D. Shepherd's main areas of focus and topics include:

  • Soil Geostatistics and Mapping
  • Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping
  • Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
  • Soil and Land Suitability Analysis
  • Mineral Processing and Grinding
  • Soil Moisture and Remote Sensing
  • Spectroscopy and Chemometric Analyses

Best Publications

  • Development of Reflectance Spectral Libraries for Characterization of Soil Properties

    Keith D. Shepherd;Markus G. Walsh

  • Soil Fertility Replenishment in Africa: An Investment in Natural Resource Capital

    Pedro A. Sanchez;Keith D. Shepherd;Meredith J. Soule;Frank M. Place

  • Mapping Soil Properties of Africa at 250 m Resolution: Random Forests Significantly Improve Current Predictions.

    Tomislav Hengl;Gerard B. M. Heuvelink;Bas Kempen;Johan G. B. Leenaars

  • Global soil characterization with VNIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy

    David J. Brown;Keith D. Shepherd;Markus G. Walsh;M. Dewayne Mays

  • Integrated soil fertility management: Operational definition and consequences for implementation and dissemination

    B Vanlauwe;A Bationo;J Chianu;K.E. Giller

  • A global spectral library to characterize the world’s soil

    R.A. Viscarra Rossel;T. Behrens;E. Ben-Dor;D.J. Brown

  • Digital Soil Map of the World

    Pedro A. Sanchez;Sonya Ahamed;Florence Carré;Alfred E. Hartemink

  • The diversity of rural livelihoods and their influence on soil fertility in agricultural systems of East Africa - A typology of smallholder farms

    Pablo A. Tittonell;Pablo A. Tittonell;A. Muriuki;Keith D. Shepherd;D. Mugendi

  • Soil Spectroscopy: An Alternative to Wet Chemistry for Soil Monitoring

    Marco Nocita;Antoine Stevens;Bas van Wesemael;Matt Aitkenhead

  • Exploring diversity in soil fertility management of smallholder farms in western Kenya: II. Within-farm variability in resource allocation, nutrient flows and soil fertility status

    Pablo Adrián Tittonell;Pablo Adrián Tittonell;Bernard Vanlauwe;P.A. Leffelaar;Keith D. Shepherd

  • The prediction of soil carbon fractions using mid-infrared-partial least square analysis

    L. J. Janik;J. O. Skjemstad;K. D. Shepherd;L. R. Spouncer

  • Unravelling the effects of soil and crop management on maize productivity in smallholder agricultural systems of western Kenya—An application of classification and regression tree analysis

    Pablo A. Tittonell;Pablo A. Tittonell;Keith D. Shepherd;Bernard Vanlauwe;Ken E. Giller

  • Soil nutrient maps of Sub-Saharan Africa: assessment of soil nutrient content at 250 m spatial resolution using machine learning.

    Tomislav Hengl;Johan G. B. Leenaars;Keith D. Shepherd;Markus G. Walsh

  • Infrared spectroscopy—enabling an evidence-based diagnostic surveillance approach to agricultural and environmental management in developing countries

    Keith D. Shepherd;Markus G. Walsh

  • Estimating the environmental costs of soil erosion at multiple scales in Kenya using emergy synthesis

    Matthew J. Cohen;Mark T. Brown;Keith D. Shepherd

  • Soil fertility management in west Kenya: dynamic simulation of productivity, profitability and sustainability at different resource endowment levels

    K.D. Shepherd;M.J. Soule

  • African Soil Properties and Nutrients Mapped at 30--m Spatial Resolution using Two-scale Ensemble Machine Learning

    Tomislav Hengl;Matthew A. E. Miller;Josip Križan;Keith D. Shepherd

  • Organic matter stabilization in soil aggregates: Understanding the biogeochemical mechanisms that determine the fate of carbon inputs in soils

    Louis V. Verchot;Laure Dutaur;Keith D. Shepherd;Alain Albrecht

  • Prediction of Soil Fertility Properties from a Globally Distributed Soil Mid-Infrared Spectral Library

    Thomas Terhoeven-Urselmans;Tor-Gunnar Vagen;Otto Spaargaren;Keith D. Shepherd

  • Factors affecting the use of fertilizers and manure by smallholders: the case of Vihiga, western Kenya

    Michael M. Waithaka;Philip K. Thornton;Keith D. Shepherd;Nicholas N. Ndiwa

  • Empirical reformulation of the universal soil loss equation for erosion risk assessment in a tropical watershed

    Matthew J. Cohen;Keith D. Shepherd;Markus G. Walsh

Frequent Co-Authors

Eike Luedeling
Eike Luedeling University of Bonn
Bernard Vanlauwe
Bernard Vanlauwe International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
Georg Cadisch
Georg Cadisch University of Hohenheim
Pablo Tittonell
Pablo Tittonell University of Groningen
Steve P. McGrath
Steve P. McGrath Rothamsted Research
Cheryl A. Palm
Cheryl A. Palm University of Florida
Stephan M. Haefele
Stephan M. Haefele Rothamsted Research
Henry Neufeldt
Henry Neufeldt Technical University of Denmark
Ken E. Giller
Ken E. Giller Wageningen University & Research
Jan W. de Leeuw
Jan W. de Leeuw International Soil Reference and Information Centre

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