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William H. Schlesinger

William H. Schlesinger

Award Badge
Ecology and Evolution
USA
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Ecology and Evolution

D-Index
117
Citations
91558
World Ranking
114
National Ranking
46

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in United States Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in United States Leader Award
  • 2012 - Fellow of the Ecological Society of America (ESA)
  • 2009 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
  • 2006 - Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA)
  • 2006 - Fellow of American Geophysical Union (AGU)
  • 2003 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences
  • 1995 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Overview

William H. Schlesinger is affiliated with Duke University in the United States and has contributed extensively to the fields of Environmental Science, Earth and Planetary Sciences, and Agricultural and Biological Sciences. Their research covers a range of subfields including Atmospheric Science, Global and Planetary Change, Soil Science, Ecology, and Geochemistry and Petrology.

The scientist's work focuses on several main topics, such as Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics, Atmospheric Chemistry and Aerosols, Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies, Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology, Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics, Groundwater and Isotope Geochemistry, and Geology and Paleoclimatology Research.

Notable recent publications include:

  • Natural and managed soil structure: On the fragile scaffolding for soil functioning, 2020, Soil and Tillage Research
  • Continent-wide tree fecundity driven by indirect climate effects, 2021, Nature Communications
  • North American tree migration paced by climate in the West, lagging in the East, 2022, Repository for Publications and Research Data (ETH Zurich)
  • Biogeochemical constraints on climate change mitigation through regenerative farming, 2022, Biogeochemistry
  • Abiotic hydrogen (H 2 ) sources and sinks near the Mid-Ocean Ridge (MOR) with implications for the subseafloor biosphere, 2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Frequent co-authors who have collaborated on multiple publications with Schlesinger include Emily S. Bernhardt, Yves Bergeron, Michał Bogdziewicz, Benoît Courbaud, and Adrian J. Das.

Common venues for their publication efforts are:

  • Nature Communications
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • Global Biogeochemical Cycles
  • Biogeochemistry
  • Soil and Tillage Research

Recognition for their scientific contributions includes several fellowships and memberships in distinguished scientific societies: Fellow of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) since 2012, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) since 2009, Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) since 2006, Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) since 2006, Member of the National Academy of Sciences since 2003, and Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1995.

Best Publications

  • HUMAN ALTERATION OF THE GLOBAL NITROGEN CYCLE: SOURCES AND CONSEQUENCES

    Peter M. Vitousek;John D. Aber;Robert W. Howarth;Gene E. Likens

  • Biogeochemistry : An Analysis of Global Change

    William H. Schlesinger

  • Forecasting agriculturally driven global environmental change

    David Tilman;Joseph Fargione;Brian Wolff;Carla D'Antonio

  • The global carbon dioxide flux in soil respiration and its relationship to vegetation and climate

    James W. Raich;W.H. Schlesinger

  • A blueprint for blue carbon: toward an improved understanding of the role of vegetated coastal habitats in sequestering CO2

    Elizabeth Mcleod;Gail L Chmura;Steven Bouillon;Rodney Salm

  • Biological Feedbacks in Global Desertification

    William H. Schlesinger;James F. Reynolds;Gary L. Cunningham;Laura F. Huenneke

  • Natural climate solutions

    Bronson W. Griscom;Bronson W. Griscom;Justin Adams;Peter W. Ellis;Richard A. Houghton

  • Soil respiration and the global carbon cycle

    William H. Schlesinger;Jeffrey A. Andrews

  • Forest Ecosystems: Concepts and Management

    Richard H. Waring;William H. Schlesinger

  • Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry

    I R Noble;Michael J Apps;Richard A Houghton;Daniel Lashof

  • Carbon Balance in Terrestrial Detritus

    William H. Schlesinger

  • A literature review and evaluation of the. Hedley fractionation: Applications to the biogeochemical cycle of soil phosphorus in natural ecosystems

    Anne Fernald Cross;William H. Schlesinger

  • ON THE SPATIAL PATTERN OF SOIL NUTRIENTS IN DESERT ECOSYSTEMS

    William H. Schlesinger;Jane A. Raikes;Anne E. Hartley;Anne F. Cross

  • Nitrogen fixation: Anthropogenic enhancement‐environmental response

    James N. Galloway;William H. Schlesinger;Hiram Levy;Anthony Michaels

  • Reconciling carbon-cycle concepts, terminology, and methods

    F. S. Chapin Iii;G. M. Woodwell;J. Randerson;E. B. Rastetter

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

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

  • Evidence from chronosequence studies for a low carbon-storage potential of soils

    William H. Schlesinger

  • Ecological forecasts: an emerging imperative.

    James S. Clark;Steven R. Carpenter;Mary Barber;Scott Collins

  • On the fate of anthropogenic nitrogen

    William H. Schlesinger

  • Transpiration in the global water cycle

    William H. Schlesinger;Scott Jasechko

  • Forest Ecosystems, Concepts, and Management

    Roger Rosentreter;Richard H. Waring;William H. Schlesinger

Frequent Co-Authors

Adrien C. Finzi
Adrien C. Finzi Boston University
Evan H. DeLucia
Evan H. DeLucia University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Emily S. Bernhardt
Emily S. Bernhardt Duke University
Viney P. Aneja
Viney P. Aneja North Carolina State University
James S. Clark
James S. Clark Duke University
Roser Matamala
Roser Matamala Argonne National Laboratory
Gregory S. Okin
Gregory S. Okin University of California, Los Angeles
Ram Oren
Ram Oren Duke University
John Wainwright
John Wainwright Durham University
Kirsten S. Hofmockel
Kirsten S. Hofmockel Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

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