2026 Richard J. Norby: Plant Science and Agronomy Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Plant Science and Agronomy	104	131	126	42	39	287	37375
Ecology and Evolution	104	226	213	94	88	320	37946

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
2017 - Fellow of American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2016 - Fellow of the Ecological Society of America (ESA)
1995 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Overview

Richard J. Norby is affiliated with the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in the United States. Their research focuses primarily on environmental science and agricultural and biological sciences, with significant contributions to subfields such as plant science, global and planetary change, ecology, soil science, and nature and landscape conservation.

The scientist has explored several main topics in their work, including plant water relations and carbon dynamics, soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics, plant responses to elevated CO₂, peatlands and wetlands ecology, coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics, botany and plant ecology studies, as well as plant nutrient uptake and metabolism.

Some notable papers authored or coauthored by Richard J. Norby encompass:

Integrating the evidence for a terrestrial carbon sink caused by increasing atmospheric CO₂ (2020, New Phytologist)
Benchmarking and parameter sensitivity of physiological and vegetation dynamics using the Functionally Assembled Terrestrial Ecosystem Simulator (FATES) at Barro Colorado Island, Panama (2020, Biogeosciences)
Rapid Net Carbon Loss From a Whole-Ecosystem Warmed Peatland (2020, AGU Advances)
Convergence in phosphorus constraints to photosynthesis in forests around the world (2022, Nature Communications)
Fine-root dynamics vary with soil depth and precipitation in a low-nutrient tropical forest in the Central Amazonia (2020, Plant-Environment Interactions)

Frequent coauthors in their research include:

Colleen M. Iversen
Joanne Childs
Anthony P. Walker
Daniela Yaffar
Marie Arnaud

Richard J. Norby has published extensively in a range of scientific venues. The most common publication outlets include:

OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information)
Global Change Biology
New Phytologist
Biogeosciences
Plant and Soil

The scientist has received several recognitions, including being named a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in 2017, a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) in 2016, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 1995.

Best Publications

A meta-analysis of the response of soil respiration, net nitrogen mineralization, and aboveground plant growth to experimental ecosystem warming

L.E. Rustad;J.L. Campbell;G.M. Marion;R.J. Norby

2655
Citations
Redefining fine roots improves understanding of below-ground contributions to terrestrial biosphere processes

M. Luke McCormack;Ian A. Dickie;David M. Eissenstat;Timothy J. Fahey

1418
Citations
Forest response to elevated CO2 is conserved across a broad range of productivity.

Richard J. Norby;Evan H. DeLucia;Birgit Gielen;Carlo Calfapietra

1201
Citations
CO2 enhancement of forest productivity constrained by limited nitrogen availability

Richard J Norby;Jeffrey M Warren;Colleen M Iversen;Belinda E Medlyn

1057
Citations
Tree responses to rising CO2 in field experiments: implications for the future forest

R. J. Norby;S. D. Wullschleger;C. A. Gunderson;D. W. Johnson

973
Citations
Soil microbial community responses to multiple experimental climate change drivers

Hector F. Castro;Aimée T. Classen;Emily E. Austin;Richard J. Norby

936
Citations
Ecological Lessons from Free-Air CO 2 Enrichment (FACE) Experiments

Richard J. Norby;Donald R. Zak

747
Citations
The likely impact of elevated [CO2], nitrogen deposition, increased temperature and management on carbon sequestration in temperate and boreal forest ecosystems: a literature review.

Ritta Hyvönen;Goran I. Agren;Sune Linder;Tryggve Persson

673
Citations
Evaluating ecosystem responses to rising atmospheric CO2 and global warming in a multi‐factor world

Richard J. Norby;Yiqi Luo

616
Citations
Impacts of fine root turnover on forest NPP and soil C sequestration potential.

Roser Matamala;Miquel A. Gonzàlez-Meler;Julie D. Jastrow;Richard J. Norby

609
Citations
Integrating the evidence for a terrestrial carbon sink caused by increasing atmospheric CO2

Anthony P. Walker;Martin G. De Kauwe;Ana Bastos;Soumaya Belmecheri

582
Citations
Root dynamics and global change : seeking an ecosystem perspective

Richard J. Norby;Robert B. Jackson

551
Citations
Elevated CO2, litter chemistry, and decomposition: a synthesis.

Richard J. Norby;M. Francesca Cotrufo;Philip Ineson;Elizabeth G. O’Neill

540
Citations
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

530
Citations
Plant water relations at elevated CO2 -- implications for water-limited environments.

S. D. Wullschleger;T. J. Tschaplinski;R. J. Norby

497
Citations
Effects of Atmospheric CO2 Enrichment on the Growth and Mineral Nutrition of Quercus alba Seedlings in Nutrient-Poor Soil

Richard J. Norby;Elizabeth G. O'Neill;R. J. Luxmoore

470
Citations
Fine-root production dominates response of a deciduous forest to atmospheric CO2 enrichment

Richard J. Norby;Joanne Ledford;Carolyn D. Reilly;Nicole E. Miller

459
Citations
Sensitivity of plants to changing atmospheric CO2 concentration: From the geological past to the next century

Peter J Franks;Mark A Adams;Jeffrey S. Amthor;Margaret M Barbour

448
Citations
Productivity and compensatory responses of yellow-poplar trees in elevated C0 2

Richard J. Norby;Carla A. Gunderson;Stan D. Wullschleger;E. G. O'Neill

441
Citations
Increases in nitrogen uptake rather than nitrogen-use efficiency support higher rates of temperate forest productivity under elevated CO2

Adrien C. Finzi;Richard J. Norby;Carlo Calfapietra;Anne Gallet-Budynek

437
Citations
Evaluation of 11 terrestrial carbon–nitrogen cycle models against observations from two temperate Free‐Air CO2 Enrichment studies

Soenke Zaehle;Belinda E. Medlyn;Martin G. De Kauwe;Anthony P. Walker

429
Citations