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Ecology and Evolution
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Plant Science and Agronomy
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2026

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Plant Science and Agronomy

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108
Citations
72158
World Ranking
100
National Ranking
34

Ecology and Evolution

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109
Citations
72475
World Ranking
182
National Ranking
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Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in United States Leader Award
  • 2026 - Research.com Plant Science and Agronomy in United States Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in United States Leader Award
  • 2007 - Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA)

Overview

Keith Paustian is a researcher affiliated with Colorado State University in the United States. Their work mainly focuses on the fields of Agricultural and Biological Sciences and Environmental Science, with particular emphasis on Soil Science, Ecology, Global and Planetary Change, Agronomy and Crop Science, and Environmental Chemistry.

The main topics covered in their research include Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics, Bioenergy Crop Production and Management, Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology, Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics, Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture, Forest Management and Policy, and Soil Erosion and Sediment Transport.

Keith Paustian has contributed to several recent publications. Notable papers include:

  • Towards a global-scale soil climate mitigation strategy, 2020, Nature Communications
  • Management of cover crops in temperate climates influences soil organic carbon stocks: a meta-analysis, 2020, Ecological Applications
  • Net-Zero America: Potential Pathways, Infrastructure, and Impacts, 2021, Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
  • Robust paths to net greenhouse gas mitigation and negative emissions via advanced biofuels, 2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • Simulating measurable ecosystem carbon and nitrogen dynamics with the mechanistically defined MEMS 2.0 model, 2021, Biogeosciences

Their frequent co-authors include Yao Zhang, Meagan E. Schipanski, Shelby C. McClelland, M. Francesca Cotrufo, and Stephen Williams.

Keith Paustian's work is often published in journals such as Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Global Change Biology, SSRN Electronic Journal, Agricultural Systems, and Journal of Environmental Management.

In addition to papers, Paustian has published books, including a 2024 work titled Carbon Removal at Airports with National Academies Press eBooks.

Keith Paustian has been recognized as a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) since 2007.

Best Publications

  • Stabilization mechanisms of soil organic matter: Implications for C-saturation of soils

    J. Six;R. T. Conant;E. A. Paul;K. Paustian

  • Soil macroaggregate turnover and microaggregate formation: a mechanism for C sequestration under no-tillage agriculture

    J Six;E.T Elliott;K Paustian

  • 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories

    K. Paustian;N.H. Ravindranath;A.R. van Amstel

  • Aggregation and soil organic matter accumulation in cultivated and native grassland soils

    J. Six;E.T. Elliott;K. Paustian;J. W. Doran

  • Climate-smart soils

    Keith Paustian;Johannes Lehmann;Stephen Ogle;David Reay

  • Soil carbon 4 per mille

    Budiman Minasny;Brendan P. Malone;Alex B. McBratney;Denis A. Angers

  • Soil structure and organic matter: I. Distribution of aggregate-size classes and aggregate-associated carbon.

    J. Six;K. Paustian;E. T. Elliott;C. Combrink

  • GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT AND CONVERSION INTO GRASSLAND: EFFECTS ON SOIL CARBON

    Richard T. Conant;Keith Paustian;Edward T. Elliott

  • Aggregate and Soil Organic Matter Dynamics under Conventional and No-Tillage Systems

    J. Six;E. T. Elliott;K. Paustian

  • Agricultural soils as a sink to mitigate CO2 emissions

    K Paustian;O Andren;H.H Janzen;R Lal

  • Management options for reducing CO2 emissions from agricultural soils

    K. Paustian;J. Six;E.T. Elliott;H. W. Hunt

  • Management controls on soil carbon

    Keith Paustian;Harold P. Collins;E.A. Paul

  • The potential to mitigate global warming with no‐tillage management is only realized when practised in the long term

    Johan Six;Johan Six;Stephen M. Ogle;F. Jay breidt;Rich T. Conant

  • Global change pressures on soils from land use and management.

    Pete Smith;Joanna Isobel House;Mercedes Bustamante;Jaroslava Sobocká

  • Soil carbon saturation: concept, evidence and evaluation

    Catherine E. Stewart;Keith Paustian;Richard T. Conant;Alain F. Plante;Alain F. Plante

  • Aggregate-associated soil organic matter as an ecosystem property and a measurement tool ☆

    Johan Six;Keith Paustian

  • Measuring and understanding carbon storage in afforested soils by physical fractionation

    J. Six;P. Callewaert;S. Lenders;S. De Gryze

  • Agricultural management impacts on soil organic carbon storage under moist and dry climatic conditions of temperate and tropical regions

    Stephen M. Ogle;F. Jay Breidt;Keith Paustian

  • Influence of dry–wet cycles on the interrelationship between aggregate, particulate organic matter, and microbial community dynamics

    Karolien Denef;Karolien Denef;Johan Six;Heleen Bossuyt;Heleen Bossuyt;Serita D. Frey

  • Bacterial and fungal abundance and biomass in conventional and no-tillage agroecosystems along two climatic gradients

    S.D Frey;E.T Elliott;K Paustian

  • Soil structure and soil organic matter : II. A normalized stability index and the effect of mineralogy

    J. Six;E. T. Elliott;K. Paustian

  • Modeling soil organic matter in organic-amended and nitrogen-fertilized long-term plots

    Keith Paustian;William J. Parton;Jan Persson

Frequent Co-Authors

Johan Six
Johan Six ETH Zurich
Richard T. Conant
Richard T. Conant Colorado State University
Stephen M. Ogle
Stephen M. Ogle Colorado State University
Carlos Eduardo Pellegrino Cerri
Carlos Eduardo Pellegrino Cerri Universidade de São Paulo
Eldor A. Paul
Eldor A. Paul Colorado State University
E.T. Elliott
E.T. Elliott Colorado State University
John M. Antle
John M. Antle Oregon State University
Peter Smith
Peter Smith University of Aberdeen
Kevin Coleman
Kevin Coleman Rothamsted Research
Niels H. Batjes
Niels H. Batjes International Soil Reference and Information Centre

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