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Melinda D. Smith

D-Index & Metrics

Ecology and Evolution

D-Index
87
Citations
35715
World Ranking
537
National Ranking
191

Melinda D. Smith publications per year

1995: 1 publications 1996: 0 publications 1997: 0 publications 1998: 0 publications 1999: 2 publications 2000: 1 publications 2001: 5 publications 2002: 1 publications 2003: 3 publications 2004: 6 publications 2005: 2 publications 2006: 5 publications 2007: 3 publications 2008: 5 publications 2009: 7 publications 2010: 3 publications 2011: 9 publications 2012: 10 publications 2013: 13 publications 2014: 20 publications 2015: 20 publications 2016: 44 publications 2017: 22 publications 2018: 22 publications 2019: 18 publications 2020: 18 publications 2021: 23 publications 2022: 25 publications 2023: 16 publications 2024: 10 publications 2025: 26 publications
1995 2025

340 publications in total across all disciplines

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.

37–41 publications: 2 scientists 42–46 publications: 9 scientists 47–51 publications: 10 scientists 52–56 publications: 31 scientists 57–61 publications: 56 scientists 62–66 publications: 91 scientists 67–71 publications: 92 scientists 72–76 publications: 127 scientists 77–81 publications: 173 scientists 82–86 publications: 236 scientists 87–91 publications: 227 scientists 92–96 publications: 240 scientists 97–101 publications: 333 scientists 102–106 publications: 280 scientists 107–111 publications: 300 scientists 112–116 publications: 285 scientists 117–121 publications: 305 scientists 122–126 publications: 287 scientists 127–131 publications: 278 scientists 132–136 publications: 289 scientists 137–141 publications: 273 scientists 142–146 publications: 262 scientists 147–151 publications: 246 scientists 152–156 publications: 235 scientists 157–161 publications: 205 scientists 162–166 publications: 199 scientists 167–171 publications: 174 scientists 172–176 publications: 164 scientists 177–181 publications: 173 scientists 182–186 publications: 189 scientists 187–191 publications: 170 scientists 192–196 publications: 139 scientists 197–201 publications: 128 scientists 202–206 publications: 117 scientists 207–211 publications: 115 scientists 212–216 publications: 107 scientists 217–221 publications: 124 scientists 222–226 publications: 81 scientists 227–231 publications: 82 scientists 232–236 publications: 85 scientists 237–241 publications: 75 scientists 242–246 publications: 66 scientists 247–251 publications: 81 scientists 252–256 publications: 69 scientists 257–261 publications: 70 scientists 262–266 publications: 55 scientists 267–271 publications: 64 scientists 272–276 publications: 49 scientists 277–281 publications: 48 scientists 282–286 publications: 44 scientists 287–291 publications: 45 scientists 292–296 publications: 36 scientists 297–301 publications: 39 scientists 302–306 publications: 38 scientists 307–311 publications: 30 scientists 312–316 publications: 34 scientists 317–321 publications: 25 scientists 322–326 publications: 22 scientists 327–331 publications: 28 scientists 332–336 publications: 30 scientists 337–341 publications: 22 scientists 342–346 publications: 30 scientists 347–351 publications: 26 scientists 352–356 publications: 22 scientists 357–361 publications: 29 scientists 362–366 publications: 21 scientists 367–371 publications: 12 scientists 372–376 publications: 18 scientists 377–381 publications: 17 scientists 382–386 publications: 13 scientists 387–391 publications: 21 scientists 392–396 publications: 13 scientists 397–401 publications: 10 scientists 402–406 publications: 15 scientists 407–411 publications: 8 scientists 412–416 publications: 9 scientists 417–421 publications: 8 scientists 422–426 publications: 4 scientists 427–431 publications: 10 scientists 432–436 publications: 10 scientists 437–441 publications: 5 scientists 442–446 publications: 4 scientists 447–451 publications: 10 scientists 452–456 publications: 2 scientists 457–461 publications: 4 scientists 462–466 publications: 7 scientists 467–471 publications: 7 scientists 472–476 publications: 6 scientists 477–481 publications: 6 scientists 482–486 publications: 3 scientists 487–491 publications: 3 scientists 492–496 publications: 4 scientists 497–501 publications: 4 scientists 502–506 publications: 8 scientists 507–511 publications: 5 scientists 512–516 publications: 4 scientists 517–521 publications: 5 scientists 522–526 publications: 4 scientists 527–530 publications: 5 scientists 531+ publications: 100 scientists
37 publications 531+

This scientist: 285 publications — 90th percentile

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

The last bar groups every scientist with 531 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: 153 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: 119 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: 27 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: 7 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: 100 scientists
30 D-Index 121+

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 121 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.

Best Scientists Citing Melinda D. Smith

Yiqi Luo

Yiqi Luo

Cornell University

Publications: 90

Peter B. Reich

Peter B. Reich

University of Minnesota

Publications: 81

Scott L. Collins

Scott L. Collins

University of New Mexico

Publications: 72

Nico Eisenhauer

Nico Eisenhauer

Leipzig University

Publications: 67

Xingguo Han

Xingguo Han

Hebei University

Publications: 65

Eric W. Seabloom

Eric W. Seabloom

University of Minnesota

Publications: 65

Shilong Piao

Shilong Piao

Peking University

Publications: 56

Elizabeth T. Borer

Elizabeth T. Borer

University of Minnesota

Publications: 55

Bernhard Schmid

Bernhard Schmid

University of Zurich

Publications: 50

Anke Jentsch

Anke Jentsch

University of Bayreuth

Publications: 49

Helmut Hillebrand

Helmut Hillebrand

Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg

Publications: 48

Nianpeng He

Nianpeng He

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Publications: 46

Philip A. Fay

Philip A. Fay

Agricultural Research Service

Publications: 45

Josep Peñuelas

Josep Peñuelas

Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), CSIC

Publications: 44

Jin-Sheng He

Jin-Sheng He

Peking University

Publications: 44

Johannes M. H. Knops

Johannes M. H. Knops

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Publications: 43

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