2026 Richard D. Bardgett: Ecology and Evolution Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Ecology and Evolution	148	32	32	5	5	517	94574

Research.com Recognitions

2026 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in United Kingdom Leader Award
2025 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in United Kingdom Leader Award
2022 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in United Kingdom Leader Award
2015 - Member of Academia Europaea
2006 - Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand

Overview

Richard D. Bardgett is affiliated with Lancaster University in the United Kingdom. Their research primarily spans the fields of Agricultural and Biological Sciences and Environmental Science, with significant contributions across various subfields such as Plant Science, Ecology, Soil Science, Nature and Landscape Conservation, and Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics.

Their work frequently addresses core topics including Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics, Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies, Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology, Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions, Plant and Animal Studies, Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology, and Plant Parasitism and Resistance.

Bardgett has published extensively in several academic venues, most notably the Journal of Ecology with nine publications, Nature Communications with seven, Soil Biology and Biochemistry with five, Ecology and Evolution also with five, and New Phytologist with four publications.

Among recent papers authored or co-authored by Bardgett are:

Combatting global grassland degradation, 2021, Nature Reviews Earth & Environment
Root traits as drivers of plant and ecosystem functioning: current understanding, pitfalls and future research needs, 2020, New Phytologist
Soil microbial diversity-biomass relationships are driven by soil carbon content across global biomes, 2021, The ISME Journal
Aridity-driven shift in biodiversity-soil multifunctionality relationships, 2021, Nature Communications
Reduced microbial stability in the active layer is associated with carbon loss under alpine permafrost degradation, 2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

They have collaborated extensively with colleagues such as David Johnson, Franciska T. de Vries, Irene Cordero, Nick Ostle, and Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, each contributing to numerous joint publications.

Richard D. Bardgett has been recognized with academic honors including being named a Member of Academia Europaea in 2015 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 2006.

Best Publications

The unseen majority: Soil microbes as drivers of plant diversity and productivity in terrestrial ecosystems

Marcel G. A. Van Der Heijden;Richard D. Bardgett;Nico M. Van Straalen

5351
Citations
Ecological linkages between aboveground and belowground biota.

David A. Wardle;David A. Wardle;Richard D. Bardgett;John N. Klironomos;Heikki Setälä

5315
Citations
Belowground biodiversity and ecosystem functioning

Richard D. Bardgett;Wim H. van der Putten

3815
Citations
A global atlas of the dominant bacteria found in soil

Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo;Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo;Angela M. Oliverio;Angela M. Oliverio;Tess E. Brewer;Tess E. Brewer;Alberto Benavent-González

2188
Citations
Soil bacterial networks are less stable under drought than fungal networks.

Franciska T. de Vries;Rob I. Griffiths;Mark Bailey;Hayley Craig

1876
Citations
Plant–soil feedbacks: the past, the present and future challenges

Wim H. van der Putten;Richard D. Bardgett;James D. Bever;T. Martijn Bezemer

1768
Citations
Plant functional traits and soil carbon sequestration in contrasting biomes

Gerlinde B. De Deyn;Johannes H. C. Cornelissen;Richard D. Bardgett

1600
Citations
The significance of soils and soil science towards realization of the United Nations sustainable development goals

Saskia D. Keesstra;Johan Bouma;Jakob Wallinga;Pablo Tittonell

1564
Citations
Diversity meets decomposition

Mark O. Gessner;Mark O. Gessner;Christopher M. Swan;Christian K. Dang;Christian K. Dang;Brendan G. McKie

1446
Citations
Going underground: root traits as drivers of ecosystem processes

Richard D. Bardgett;Liesje Mommer;Franciska T. De Vries

1336
Citations
Microbial contributions to climate change through carbon cycle feedbacks.

Richard D Bardgett;Chris Freeman;Nicholas J Ostle

1329
Citations
Herbivore-mediated linkages between aboveground and belowground communities

Richard D. Bardgett;David A. Wardle;David A. Wardle

1312
Citations
The use of chronosequences in studies of ecological succession and soil development

Lawrence R. Walker;David A. Wardle;Richard D. Bardgett;Bruce D. Clarkson

1312
Citations
The biology of soil : a community and ecosystem approach.

Richard D. Bardgett

1292
Citations
Combatting global grassland degradation.

Richard D. Bardgett;James M. Bullock;Sandra Lavorel;Peter Manning

1262
Citations
Ecosystem Properties and Forest Decline in Contrasting Long-Term Chronosequences

David A. Wardle;Lawrence R. Walker;Richard D. Bardgett

1245
Citations
Towards an assessment of multiple ecosystem processes and services via functional traits

Francesco de Bello;Sandra Lavorel;Sandra Myrna Diaz;Richard Harrington

1176
Citations
Soil nematode abundance and functional group composition at a global scale

Johan van den Hoogen;Stefan Geisen;Devin Routh;Howard Ferris

1160
Citations
Microorganisms and climate change: terrestrial feedbacks and mitigation options

Brajesh K. Singh;Richard D. Bardgett;Pete Smith;Dave S. Reay

1156
Citations
Intensive agriculture reduces soil biodiversity across Europe

Maria A. Tsiafouli;Elisa Thébault;Stefanos P. Sgardelis;Peter C. de Ruiter

1078
Citations
A temporal approach to linking aboveground and belowground ecology

Richard D. Bardgett;William D. Bowman;Ruediger Kaufmann;Steve K. Schmidt

993
Citations
Aboveground-Belowground Linkages: Biotic Interactions, Ecosystem Processes, and Global Change

Richard D Bardgett;David A Wardle

992
Citations
The significance of soils and soil science towards realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Saskia Keesstra;Johan Bouma;Jakob Wallinga;Pablo Tittonell

0
Citations

Frequent Co-Authors

Nick Ostle Lancaster University

David A. Wardle Umeå University

Diana H. Wall Colorado State University

Franciska T. de Vries University of Amsterdam

Phil J. Hobbs Rothamsted Research

Mark Farrell Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

David W. Hopkins Scotland's Rural College

Wim H. van der Putten Netherlands Institute of Ecology

Niall P. McNamara UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

Roland Bol Forschungszentrum Jülich

External Links

Personal website of Richard D. Bardgett

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