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William K. Lauenroth

William K. Lauenroth

Award Badge
Ecology and Evolution
USA
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Ecology and Evolution

D-Index
103
Citations
39370
World Ranking
239
National Ranking
103

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
  • 2017 - Fellow of the Ecological Society of America (ESA)
  • 2005 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Overview

William K. Lauenroth is affiliated with Yale University in the United States and works primarily in the field of Environmental Science. Their research broadly covers global and planetary change, ecology, nature and landscape conservation, management and policy, and water science, with a particular focus on dryland ecosystems and grassland dynamics.

The main topics of their work include:

  • Rangeland and Wildlife Management
  • Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
  • Fire effects on ecosystems
  • Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
  • Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies
  • Species Distribution and Climate Change
  • Hydrology and Drought Analysis

Among the recent papers authored or co-authored by Lauenroth are:

  • "Robust ecological drought projections for drylands in the 21st century," 2020, published in Global Change Biology
  • "An Assessment of Production Trends on the Great Plains from 1984 to 2017," 2020, published in Rangeland Ecology & Management
  • "Divergent climate change effects on widespread dryland plant communities driven by climatic and ecohydrological gradients," 2021, published in Global Change Biology
  • "Sensitivity of productivity to precipitation amount and pattern varies by topographic position in a semiarid grassland," 2021, published in Ecosphere
  • "Soil water availability shapes species richness in mid-latitude shrub steppe plant communities," 2020, published in Journal of Vegetation Science

The scientist's frequent co-authors include:

  • Daniel R. Schlaepfer
  • Ingrid C. Burke
  • John B. Bradford
  • Kyle A. Palmquist
  • Trace E. Martyn

Publication venues where Lauenroth has frequently contributed include Ecosphere, Rangeland Ecology & Management, Global Change Biology, Ecological Applications, and Climatic Change.

The scientist has been recognized as a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America in 2017 and as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2005.

Best Publications

  • Quantitative effects of grazing on vegetation and soils over a global range of environments

    D. G. Milchunas;W. K. Lauenroth

  • A Generalized Model of the Effects of Grazing by Large Herbivores on Grassland Community Structure

    D. G. Milchunas;O. E. Sala;W. K. Lauenroth

  • Primary Production of the Central Grassland Region of the United States

    O. E. Sala;W. J. Parton;L. A. Joyce;W. K. Lauenroth

  • The effect of grazing on the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation

    Peter B. Adler;D. A. Raff;W. K. Lauenroth

  • Intercomparison, interpretation, and assessment of spring phenology in North America estimated from remote sensing for 1982-2006

    Michael A. White;Kirsten M. de Beurs;Kamel Didan;David W. Inouye

  • Long‐Term Forage Production of North American Shortgrass Steppe

    W. K. Lauenroth;O. E. Sala

  • ANPP ESTIMATES FROM NDVI FOR THE CENTRAL GRASSLAND REGION OF THE UNITED STATES

    José M. Paruelo;Howard E. Epstein;William K. Lauenroth;Ingrid C. Burke

  • Small rainfall events: An ecological role in semiarid regions

    O. E. Sala;W. K. Lauenroth

  • A multi-scale perspective of water pulses in dryland ecosystems: climatology and ecohydrology of the western USA

    Michael E. Loik;David D. Breshears;William K. Lauenroth;Jayne Belnap

  • Resource partitioning between shrubs and grasses in the Patagonian steppe.

    O. E. Sala;R. A. Golluscio;W. K. Lauenroth;A. Soriano

  • Ecosystem consequences of changing biodiversity

    F. Stuart Chapin;Osvaldo E. Sala;Ingrid C. Burke;J. Phillip Grime

  • No Consistent Effect of Plant Diversity on Productivity

    M. A. Huston;L. W. Aarssen;M. P. Austin;B. S. Cade

  • Soil Organic Matter Recovery in Semiarid Grasslands: Implications for the Conservation Reserve Program

    Ingrid C. Burke;William K. Lauenroth;Debra P. Coffin

  • Long‐Term Soil Water Dynamics in the Shortgrass Steppe

    O. E. Sala;W. K. Lauenroth;W. J. Parton

  • The structure and function of ten Western North American grasslands: I. Abiotic and vegetational characteristics

    Phillip L. Sims;J. S. Singh;W. K. Lauenroth

  • Relative Abundance of Plant Functional Types in Grasslands and Shrublands of North America

    Jose M. Paruelo;W. K. Lauenroth

  • Effects of grazing, topography, and precipitation on the structure of a semiarid grassland

    Daniel G. Milchunas;William K. Lauenroth;Philip L. Chapman;Mohammad K. Kazempour

  • REGIONAL AND TEMPORAL VARIATION IN NET PRIMARY PRODUCTION AND NITROGEN MINERALIZATION IN GRASSLANDS

    Ingrid C. Burke;William K. Lauenroth;William J. Parton

  • Grassland Precipitation-Use Efficiency Varies Across a Resource Gradient

    José M. Paruelo;William K. Lauenroth;Ingrid C. Burke;Osvaldo E. Sala

  • Heterogeneity of soil and plant N and C associated with individual plants and openings in North American shortgrass steppe

    Paul B. Hook;Ingrid C. Burke;William K. Lauenroth

Frequent Co-Authors

Ingrid C. Burke
Ingrid C. Burke Yale University
John B. Bradford
John B. Bradford United States Geological Survey
Daniel G. Milchunas
Daniel G. Milchunas Colorado State University
Osvaldo E. Sala
Osvaldo E. Sala Arizona State University
José M. Paruelo
José M. Paruelo University of Buenos Aires
Peter B. Adler
Peter B. Adler Utah State University
William J. Parton
William J. Parton Colorado State University
Howard E. Epstein
Howard E. Epstein University of Virginia
J. S. Singh
J. S. Singh Banaras Hindu University
Seth M. Munson
Seth M. Munson United States Geological Survey

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