World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!

D-Index & Metrics

Ecology and Evolution

D-Index
87
Citations
35715
World Ranking
541
National Ranking
191

Melinda D. Smith publication distribution in Ecology and Evolution in 2026

The chart shows the distribution of publications by all Research.com ranked scientists in the field of Ecology and Evolution in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Melinda D. Smith sits on this spectrum.

37–46 publications: 11 scientists 47–56 publications: 41 scientists 57–66 publications: 147 scientists 67–76 publications: 219 scientists 77–86 publications: 409 scientists 87–96 publications: 467 scientists 97–106 publications: 613 scientists 107–116 publications: 585 scientists 117–126 publications: 591 scientists 127–136 publications: 567 scientists 137–146 publications: 535 scientists 147–156 publications: 481 scientists 157–166 publications: 404 scientists 167–176 publications: 338 scientists 177–186 publications: 362 scientists 187–196 publications: 309 scientists 197–206 publications: 246 scientists 207–216 publications: 223 scientists 217–226 publications: 205 scientists 227–236 publications: 167 scientists 237–246 publications: 141 scientists 247–256 publications: 150 scientists 257–266 publications: 125 scientists 267–276 publications: 113 scientists 277–286 publications: 92 scientists 287–296 publications: 81 scientists 297–306 publications: 77 scientists 307–316 publications: 64 scientists 317–326 publications: 47 scientists 327–336 publications: 58 scientists 337–346 publications: 52 scientists 347–356 publications: 48 scientists 357–366 publications: 50 scientists 367–376 publications: 30 scientists 377–386 publications: 30 scientists 387–396 publications: 34 scientists 397–406 publications: 25 scientists 407–416 publications: 17 scientists 417–426 publications: 12 scientists 427–436 publications: 20 scientists 437–446 publications: 9 scientists 447–456 publications: 12 scientists 457–466 publications: 11 scientists 467–476 publications: 13 scientists 477–486 publications: 10 scientists 487–496 publications: 7 scientists 497–506 publications: 12 scientists 507–516 publications: 10 scientists 517–526 publications: 9 scientists 527–532 publications: 6 scientists 533+ publications: 100 scientists
37 publications 533+

This scientist: 285 publications — 90th percentile

90% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 533 publications or more.

Melinda D. Smith D-index placement in Ecology and Evolution in 2026

The chart shows the D-index (discipline H-index) distribution of Ecology and Evolution scientists ranked by Research.com in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Melinda D. Smith sits on this spectrum.

30 D-Index: 95 scientists 31 D-Index: 123 scientists 32 D-Index: 191 scientists 33 D-Index: 245 scientists 34 D-Index: 252 scientists 35 D-Index: 244 scientists 36 D-Index: 249 scientists 37 D-Index: 244 scientists 38 D-Index: 254 scientists 39 D-Index: 254 scientists 40 D-Index: 280 scientists 41 D-Index: 274 scientists 42 D-Index: 266 scientists 43 D-Index: 233 scientists 44 D-Index: 248 scientists 45 D-Index: 208 scientists 46 D-Index: 201 scientists 47 D-Index: 213 scientists 48 D-Index: 207 scientists 49 D-Index: 172 scientists 50 D-Index: 209 scientists 51 D-Index: 199 scientists 52 D-Index: 152 scientists 53 D-Index: 169 scientists 54 D-Index: 163 scientists 55 D-Index: 148 scientists 56 D-Index: 120 scientists 57 D-Index: 146 scientists 58 D-Index: 137 scientists 59 D-Index: 140 scientists 60 D-Index: 104 scientists 61 D-Index: 120 scientists 62 D-Index: 118 scientists 63 D-Index: 99 scientists 64 D-Index: 77 scientists 65 D-Index: 100 scientists 66 D-Index: 86 scientists 67 D-Index: 83 scientists 68 D-Index: 75 scientists 69 D-Index: 94 scientists 70 D-Index: 57 scientists 71 D-Index: 68 scientists 72 D-Index: 59 scientists 73 D-Index: 63 scientists 74 D-Index: 66 scientists 75 D-Index: 60 scientists 76 D-Index: 42 scientists 77 D-Index: 49 scientists 78 D-Index: 39 scientists 79 D-Index: 37 scientists 80 D-Index: 43 scientists 81 D-Index: 41 scientists 82 D-Index: 45 scientists 83 D-Index: 34 scientists 84 D-Index: 40 scientists 85 D-Index: 35 scientists 86 D-Index: 55 scientists 87 D-Index: 24 scientists 88 D-Index: 24 scientists 89 D-Index: 30 scientists 90 D-Index: 23 scientists 91 D-Index: 25 scientists 92 D-Index: 28 scientists 93 D-Index: 27 scientists 94 D-Index: 13 scientists 95 D-Index: 23 scientists 96 D-Index: 12 scientists 97 D-Index: 14 scientists 98 D-Index: 19 scientists 99 D-Index: 16 scientists 100 D-Index: 14 scientists 101 D-Index: 5 scientists 102 D-Index: 21 scientists 103 D-Index: 16 scientists 104 D-Index: 10 scientists 105 D-Index: 8 scientists 106 D-Index: 7 scientists 107 D-Index: 7 scientists 108 D-Index: 6 scientists 109 D-Index: 9 scientists 110 D-Index: 11 scientists 111 D-Index: 12 scientists 112 D-Index: 9 scientists 113 D-Index: 7 scientists 114 D-Index: 3 scientists 115 D-Index: 8 scientists 116 D-Index: 5 scientists 117 D-Index: 11 scientists 118 D-Index: 4 scientists 119 D-Index: 2 scientists 120 D-Index: 5 scientists 121 D-Index: 3 scientists 122+ D-Index: 99 scientists
30 D-Index 122+

This scientist: 87 D-Index — 94th percentile

94% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 122 D-Index or more.

Overview

Melinda D. Smith is affiliated with Colorado State University in the United States. Their research primarily spans the fields of Environmental Science and Agricultural and Biological Sciences. Within these broader areas, they have contributed extensively to subfields such as Global and Planetary Change, Nature and Landscape Conservation, Ecology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, and Plant Science.

Their work covers several main topics, including:

  • Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
  • Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
  • Plant and animal studies
  • Pasture and Agricultural Systems
  • Species Distribution and Climate Change
  • Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
  • Rangeland and Wildlife Management

Smith's frequent publication venues include:

  • Journal of Ecology
  • Oecologia
  • Global Change Biology
  • New Phytologist
  • Functional Ecology

Some of the recent papers with high citation counts featuring Smith's work or related field advances include:

  • Fire as a fundamental ecological process: Research advances and frontiers (2020, Journal of Ecology)
  • Expert perspectives on global biodiversity loss and its drivers and impacts on people (2022, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment)
  • General destabilizing effects of eutrophication on grassland productivity at multiple spatial scales (2020, Nature Communications)
  • Extreme drought impacts have been underestimated in grasslands and shrublands globally (2024, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
  • Clarifying the effect of biodiversity on productivity in natural ecosystems with longitudinal data and methods for causal inference (2023, Nature Communications)

Smith frequently collaborates with several co-authors in related ecological research, including:

  • Alan K. Knapp
  • Scott L. Collins
  • Qiang Yu
  • Sally E. Koerner
  • Yann Hautier

Best Publications

  • Biodiversity increases the resistance of ecosystem productivity to climate extremes

    Forest Isbell;Dylan Craven;John Connolly;Michael Loreau

  • Variation Among Biomes in Temporal Dynamics of Aboveground Primary Production

    Alan K. Knapp;Melinda D. Smith

  • Convergence across biomes to a common rain-use efficiency

    Travis E. Huxman;Melinda D. Smith;Melinda D. Smith;Philip A. Fay;Alan K. Knapp

  • Rainfall variability, carbon cycling, and plant species diversity in a mesic grassland

    Alan K. Knapp;Philip A. Fay;John M. Blair;Scott L. Collins;Scott L. Collins

  • Consequences of More Extreme Precipitation Regimes for Terrestrial Ecosystems

    Alan K. Knapp;Claus Beier;David D. Briske;Aimée T. Classen

  • The invasion paradox: reconciling pattern and process in species invasions.

    J. D. Fridley;J. J. Stachowicz;S. Naeem;D. F. Sax

  • Assessing the Response of Terrestrial Ecosystems to Potential Changes in Precipitation

    Jake F. Weltzin;Michael E. Loik;Susanne Schwinning;David G. Williams

  • Herbivores and nutrients control grassland plant diversity via light limitation

    Elizabeth T. Borer;Eric W. Seabloom;Daniel S. Gruner;W. Stanley Harpole

  • An ecological perspective on extreme climatic events: a synthetic definition and framework to guide future research

    Melinda D. Smith

  • Integrative modelling reveals mechanisms linking productivity and plant species richness

    James B. Grace;T. Michael Anderson;Eric W. Seabloom;Elizabeth T. Borer

  • Dominant species maintain ecosystem function with non‐random species loss

    Melinda D. Smith;Alan K. Knapp

  • An integrated conceptual framework for long‐term social–ecological research

    Scott L Collins;Stephen R Carpenter;Scott M Swinton;Daniel E Orenstein

  • Resistance and resilience of a grassland ecosystem to climate extremes

    David L. Hoover;Alan K. Knapp;Melinda D. Smith

  • A framework for assessing ecosystem dynamics in response to chronic resource alterations induced by global change

    Melinda D. Smith;Alan K. Knapp;Scott L. Collins

  • Productivity Is a Poor Predictor of Plant Species Richness

    Peter B. Adler;Eric W. Seabloom;Elizabeth T. Borer;Helmut Hillebrand

  • Fire as a fundamental ecological process: research advances and frontiers

    Kendra K. McLauchlan;Philip E. Higuera;Jessica Miesel;Brendan M. Rogers

  • Multiple facets of biodiversity drive the diversity–stability relationship

    Dylan Craven;Nico Eisenhauer;William D. Pearse;Yann Hautier

  • Finding generality in ecology: a model for globally distributed experiments

    Elizabeth T. Borer;W. Stanley Harpole;Peter B. Adler;Eric M. Lind

  • A meta-analysis of 1,119 manipulative experiments on terrestrial carbon-cycling responses to global change

    Jian Song;Jian Song;Shiqiang Wan;Shiqiang Wan;Shilong Piao;Shilong Piao;Alan K. Knapp

  • Does species diversity limit productivity in natural grassland communities

    James B. Grace;T. Michael Anderson;Melinda D. Smith;Eric W. Seabloom

  • The ecological role of climate extremes: current understanding and future prospects

    Melinda D. Smith

  • Is Nitrogen Deposition Altering the Nitrogen Status of Northeastern Forests

    J. D. Aber;C. L. Goodale;S. V. Ollinger;M. Smith

  • Climate change and precipitation – Consequences of more extreme precipitation regimes for terrestrial ecosystems

    Claus Beier;A Knapp;D Briske

  • Integrative modelling reveals mechanisms linking productivity and plant species richness

    James B. Grace;T. Michael Andersen;Eric W. Seabloom;Elizabeth T. Borer

Frequent Co-Authors

Alan K. Knapp
Alan K. Knapp Colorado State University
Scott L. Collins
Scott L. Collins University of New Mexico
Kevin R. Wilcox
Kevin R. Wilcox University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Meghan L. Avolio
Meghan L. Avolio Johns Hopkins University
Kimberly J. La Pierre
Kimberly J. La Pierre Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Kevin P. Kirkman
Kevin P. Kirkman University of KwaZulu-Natal
Sally E. Koerner
Sally E. Koerner University of North Carolina at Greensboro
John M. Blair
John M. Blair Kansas State University
Yiqi Luo
Yiqi Luo Cornell University
Deron E. Burkepile
Deron E. Burkepile University of California, Santa Barbara

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Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

Exploring Ecology and Evolution opens doors to diverse career paths in science, research, and environmental management. However, related fields such as psychology and counseling are also highly relevant for those interested in human behavior, mental health, or working with communities affected by ecological change.

For example, pursuing an master of mental health online can prepare you for clinical roles supporting individuals dealing with stress, trauma, or environmental disasters. Those seeking affordable educational options may consider a online master's in counseling, which offers flexible learning and hands-on practice.

If you are specifically interested in supporting children and families, a masters in child psychology online might be the perfect fit—helping you understand development and mental health in younger populations. For those fascinated by the intersection of science and law, consider researching how much do forensic psychologists make and what this career entails.

Expanding your education into these areas can complement your background in Ecology and Evolution, leading to unique interdisciplinary career opportunities.

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