World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!

D-Index & Metrics

Ecology and Evolution

D-Index
37
Citations
9649
World Ranking
6755
National Ranking
2276

Overview

Saara J. DeWalt is affiliated with Clemson University in the United States. Their research focuses primarily on environmental science and agricultural and biological sciences, contributing extensively to multiple subfields including nature and landscape conservation, ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics, ecological modeling, global and planetary change, and plant science.

The main topics of DeWalt's work cover a range of ecological and environmental areas such as:

  • Ecology and vegetation dynamics studies
  • Plant and animal studies
  • Species distribution and climate change
  • Conservation, biodiversity, and resource management
  • Forest ecology and management
  • Tree root and stability studies
  • Land use and ecosystem services

Their recent publications demonstrate active engagement in tropical forest ecology and recovery processes. Selected papers include:

  • "Multidimensional tropical forest recovery," 2021, Science
  • "Demographic trade-offs predict tropical forest dynamics," 2020, Science
  • "Functional recovery of secondary tropical forests," 2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • "Animal seed dispersal recovery during passive restoration in a forested landscape," 2022, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
  • "Strong floristic distinctiveness across Neotropical successional forests," 2022, Science Advances

DeWalt frequently publishes in venues such as Global Ecology and Biogeography, Biotropica, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences. These publications collectively reflect an emphasis on ecological systems and restoration biology.

The scientist has collaborated closely with a network of coauthors, including Daisy H. Dent, Frans Bongers, Jorge A. Meave, Lourens Poorter, and Dylan Craven. These collaborations suggest interdisciplinary work across tropical ecology and conservation science.

Best Publications

  • Biomass resilience of Neotropical secondary forests

    Lourens Poorter;Frans Bongers;T. Mitchell Aide;Angélica M. Almeyda Zambrano

  • Carbon sequestration potential of second-growth forest regeneration in the Latin American tropics

    Robin L. Chazdon;Robin L. Chazdon;Eben N. Broadbent;Danaë M. A. Rozendaal;Danaë M. A. Rozendaal;Danaë M. A. Rozendaal;Frans Bongers

  • Multidimensional tropical forest recovery

    Unknown

  • Biodiversity recovery of Neotropical secondary forests

    Danaë Rozendaal;Frans Bongers;T. Mitchell Aide;Esteban Álvarez-Dávila

  • Density and diversity of lianas along a chronosequence in a central Panamanian lowland forest.

    Saara J. Dewalt;Stefan A. Schnitzer;Julie S. Denslow

  • NATURAL‐ENEMY RELEASE FACILITATES HABITAT EXPANSION OF THE INVASIVE TROPICAL SHRUB CLIDEMIA HIRTA

    Saara J. DeWalt;Julie S. Denslow;Kalan Ickes

  • An estimate of the number of tropical tree species

    J. W. Ferry Slik;Víctor Arroyo-Rodríguez;Shin-Ichiro Aiba;Patricia Alvarez-Loayza

  • Changes in vegetation structure and composition along a tropical forest chronosequence: implications for wildlife

    Saara J. DeWalt;Satya K. Maliakal;Julie S. Denslow;Julie S. Denslow

  • Decomposition in tropical forests: a pan‐tropical study of the effects of litter type, litter placement and mesofaunal exclusion across a precipitation gradient

    Jennifer S Powers;Rebecca A Montgomery;E Carol Adair;Francis Q Brearley

  • A Standard Protocol for Liana Censuses

    Jeffrey J. Gerwing;Stefan A. Schnitzer;Robyn J. Burnham;Frans Bongers

  • Structure and Biomass of Four Lowland Neotropical Forests

    Saara J. DeWalt;Jérôme Chave

  • Medicinal plants uses of the Tacana, an Amazonian Bolivian ethnic group.

    Geneviève Bourdy;S.J. Dewalt;L.R. Chavez de Michel;A. Roca

  • Demographic trade-offs predict tropical forest dynamics

    Nadja Rüger;Nadja Rüger;Richard Condit;Richard Condit;Daisy H. Dent;Daisy H. Dent;Saara J. DeWalt

  • Wet and dry tropical forests show opposite successional pathways in wood density but converge over time

    Lourens Poorter;Danaë M. A. Rozendaal;Frans Bongers;Jarcilene S. de Almeida-Cortez

  • Censusing and Measuring Lianas: A Quantitative Comparison of the Common Methods

    Stefan A. Schnitzer;Saara J. DeWalt;Jérôme Chave

  • Annual rainfall and seasonality predict pan-tropical patterns of liana density and basal area.

    Saara J. DeWalt;Stefan A. Schnitzer;Stefan A. Schnitzer;Jérôme Chave;Frans Bongers

  • Microhabitat associations of vascular epiphytes in a wet tropical forest canopy

    Carrie L. Woods;Catherine L. Cardelús;Saara J. DeWalt

  • A Standard Protocol for Liana Censuses 1

    Jeffrey J. Gerwing;Stefan A. Schnitzer;Robyn J. Burnham;Frans Bongers

  • Legume abundance along successional and rainfall gradients in Neotropical forests.

    Maga Gei;Danaë M. A. Rozendaal;Danaë M. A. Rozendaal;Lourens Poorter;Frans Bongers

  • Phylogenetic classification of the world's tropical forests

    J. W.Ferry Slik;Janet Franklin;Víctor Arroyo-Rodríguez;Richard Field

  • Effects of native pigs (Sus scrofa) on woody understorey vegetation in a Malaysian lowland rain forest.

    Kalan Ickes;Saara J. Dewalt;S. Appanah

  • Liana habitat associations and community structure in a Bornean lowland tropical forest

    Saara J. DeWalt;Kalan Ickes;Kalan Ickes;Reuben Nilus;Kyle E. Harms;Kyle E. Harms

Frequent Co-Authors

Michiel van Breugel
Michiel van Breugel National University of Singapore
Robin L. Chazdon
Robin L. Chazdon University of Connecticut
Julie S. Denslow
Julie S. Denslow Tulane University
Jennifer S. Powers
Jennifer S. Powers University of Minnesota
Lourens Poorter
Lourens Poorter Wageningen University & Research
Jérôme Chave
Jérôme Chave Paul Sabatier University
Miguel Martínez-Ramos
Miguel Martínez-Ramos National Autonomous University of Mexico
Stefan A. Schnitzer
Stefan A. Schnitzer Marquette University
Patricia Balvanera
Patricia Balvanera National Autonomous University of Mexico
Robert Muscarella
Robert Muscarella Uppsala University

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