World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
William K. Lauenroth

William K. Lauenroth

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Ecology and Evolution
USA
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Discipline name D-Index World Ranking Current World Ranking National Ranking Current National Ranking Publications Citations
Ecology and Evolution 103 236 222 103 97 338 39370

William K. Lauenroth publications per year

The chart shows the history of publications by William K. Lauenroth between 1971 and 2026, highlighting the no. of papers published in each year and offering an overview of the publication velocity of this scholar. William K. Lauenroth published across 56 years, from 1971 to 2026, averaging 6.4 papers a year. Output peaked at 15 publications in 1998. 10 of the 360 publications appeared in the last two years.

No. of publications
5 10 15
Bar chart. Horizontal axis: year, 1971 to 2026. Vertical axis: number of publications, 0 to 15. Peak 15 publications in 1998. 1971: 1 publication 1972: 0 publications 1973: 0 publications 1974: 0 publications 1975: 1 publication 1976: 2 publications 1977: 1 publication 1978: 6 publications 1979: 6 publications 1980: 2 publications 1981: 7 publications 1982: 7 publications 1983: 9 publications 1984: 11 publications 1985: 4 publications 1986: 2 publications 1987: 1 publication 1988: 4 publications 1989: 9 publications 1990: 4 publications 1991: 4 publications 1992: 7 publications 1993: 5 publications 1994: 10 publications 1995: 10 publications 1996: 12 publications 1997: 6 publications 1998: 15 publications 1999: 7 publications 2000: 10 publications 2001: 7 publications 2002: 10 publications 2003: 5 publications 2004: 4 publications 2005: 6 publications 2006: 7 publications 2007: 11 publications 2008: 15 publications 2009: 6 publications 2010: 4 publications 2011: 8 publications 2012: 11 publications 2013: 5 publications 2014: 14 publications 2015: 9 publications 2016: 7 publications 2017: 9 publications 2018: 8 publications 2019: 11 publications 2020: 3 publications 2021: 12 publications 2022: 2 publications 2023: 3 publications 2024: 10 publications 2025: 8 publications 2026: 2 publications
1971 2026

360 publications in total across all disciplines

View publications per year as a table
William K. Lauenroth: publications per year, 1971 to 2026
Year Publications
1971 1
1972 0
1973 0
1974 0
1975 1
1976 2
1977 1
1978 6
1979 6
1980 2
1981 7
1982 7
1983 9
1984 11
1985 4
1986 2
1987 1
1988 4
1989 9
1990 4
1991 4
1992 7
1993 5
1994 10
1995 10
1996 12
1997 6
1998 15
1999 7
2000 10
2001 7
2002 10
2003 5
2004 4
2005 6
2006 7
2007 11
2008 15
2009 6
2010 4
2011 8
2012 11
2013 5
2014 14
2015 9
2016 7
2017 9
2018 8
2019 11
2020 3
2021 12
2022 2
2023 3
2024 10
2025 8
2026 2
Total 360
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William K. Lauenroth publication distribution in Ecology and Evolution in 2026

The chart shows the distribution of publications by all Research.com ranked scientists in the field of Ecology and Evolution in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where William K. Lauenroth sits on this spectrum.

No. of scientists
100 200 300
Bar chart with 100 bars. Horizontal axis: publications, 37–41 to 531+. Vertical axis: number of scientists, 0 to 333. Most scientists, 333, have 97–101 publications. The last bar groups every scientist with 531 publications or more. The highlighted bar, 337–341 publications, is where this scientist sits. 37–41 publications: 2 scientists 42–46 publications: 9 scientists 47–51 publications: 10 scientists 52–56 publications: 31 scientists 57–61 publications: 56 scientists 62–66 publications: 91 scientists 67–71 publications: 92 scientists 72–76 publications: 127 scientists 77–81 publications: 173 scientists 82–86 publications: 236 scientists 87–91 publications: 227 scientists 92–96 publications: 240 scientists 97–101 publications: 333 scientists 102–106 publications: 280 scientists 107–111 publications: 300 scientists 112–116 publications: 285 scientists 117–121 publications: 305 scientists 122–126 publications: 287 scientists 127–131 publications: 278 scientists 132–136 publications: 289 scientists 137–141 publications: 273 scientists 142–146 publications: 262 scientists 147–151 publications: 246 scientists 152–156 publications: 235 scientists 157–161 publications: 205 scientists 162–166 publications: 199 scientists 167–171 publications: 174 scientists 172–176 publications: 164 scientists 177–181 publications: 173 scientists 182–186 publications: 189 scientists 187–191 publications: 170 scientists 192–196 publications: 139 scientists 197–201 publications: 128 scientists 202–206 publications: 117 scientists 207–211 publications: 115 scientists 212–216 publications: 107 scientists 217–221 publications: 124 scientists 222–226 publications: 81 scientists 227–231 publications: 82 scientists 232–236 publications: 85 scientists 237–241 publications: 75 scientists 242–246 publications: 66 scientists 247–251 publications: 81 scientists 252–256 publications: 69 scientists 257–261 publications: 70 scientists 262–266 publications: 55 scientists 267–271 publications: 64 scientists 272–276 publications: 49 scientists 277–281 publications: 48 scientists 282–286 publications: 44 scientists 287–291 publications: 45 scientists 292–296 publications: 36 scientists 297–301 publications: 39 scientists 302–306 publications: 38 scientists 307–311 publications: 30 scientists 312–316 publications: 34 scientists 317–321 publications: 25 scientists 322–326 publications: 22 scientists 327–331 publications: 28 scientists 332–336 publications: 30 scientists 337–341 publications: 22 scientists 342–346 publications: 30 scientists 347–351 publications: 26 scientists 352–356 publications: 22 scientists 357–361 publications: 29 scientists 362–366 publications: 21 scientists 367–371 publications: 12 scientists 372–376 publications: 18 scientists 377–381 publications: 17 scientists 382–386 publications: 13 scientists 387–391 publications: 21 scientists 392–396 publications: 13 scientists 397–401 publications: 10 scientists 402–406 publications: 15 scientists 407–411 publications: 8 scientists 412–416 publications: 9 scientists 417–421 publications: 8 scientists 422–426 publications: 4 scientists 427–431 publications: 10 scientists 432–436 publications: 10 scientists 437–441 publications: 5 scientists 442–446 publications: 4 scientists 447–451 publications: 10 scientists 452–456 publications: 2 scientists 457–461 publications: 4 scientists 462–466 publications: 7 scientists 467–471 publications: 7 scientists 472–476 publications: 6 scientists 477–481 publications: 6 scientists 482–486 publications: 3 scientists 487–491 publications: 3 scientists 492–496 publications: 4 scientists 497–501 publications: 4 scientists 502–506 publications: 8 scientists 507–511 publications: 5 scientists 512–516 publications: 4 scientists 517–521 publications: 5 scientists 522–526 publications: 4 scientists 527–530 publications: 5 scientists 531+ publications: 100 scientists
37–41 publications 531+

This scientist: 338 publications — 94th percentile

94% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 531 publications or more.

View publications distribution as a table
Number of Ecology and Evolution scientists by publication count, Research.com 2026 ranking edition. Based on 8,381 ranked scientists.
Publications Scientists This scientist
37–41 2
42–46 9
47–51 10
52–56 31
57–61 56
62–66 91
67–71 92
72–76 127
77–81 173
82–86 236
87–91 227
92–96 240
97–101 333
102–106 280
107–111 300
112–116 285
117–121 305
122–126 287
127–131 278
132–136 289
137–141 273
142–146 262
147–151 246
152–156 235
157–161 205
162–166 199
167–171 174
172–176 164
177–181 173
182–186 189
187–191 170
192–196 139
197–201 128
202–206 117
207–211 115
212–216 107
217–221 124
222–226 81
227–231 82
232–236 85
237–241 75
242–246 66
247–251 81
252–256 69
257–261 70
262–266 55
267–271 64
272–276 49
277–281 48
282–286 44
287–291 45
292–296 36
297–301 39
302–306 38
307–311 30
312–316 34
317–321 25
322–326 22
327–331 28
332–336 30
337–341 22 338
342–346 30
347–351 26
352–356 22
357–361 29
362–366 21
367–371 12
372–376 18
377–381 17
382–386 13
387–391 21
392–396 13
397–401 10
402–406 15
407–411 8
412–416 9
417–421 8
422–426 4
427–431 10
432–436 10
437–441 5
442–446 4
447–451 10
452–456 2
457–461 4
462–466 7
467–471 7
472–476 6
477–481 6
482–486 3
487–491 3
492–496 4
497–501 4
502–506 8
507–511 5
512–516 4
517–521 5
522–526 4
527–530 5
531+ 100
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William K. Lauenroth D-index placement in Ecology and Evolution in 2026

The chart shows the D-index (discipline H-index) distribution of Ecology and Evolution scientists ranked by Research.com in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where William K. Lauenroth sits on this spectrum.

No. of scientists
50 100 150 200 250
Bar chart with 92 bars. Horizontal axis: D-Index, 30 to 121+. Vertical axis: number of scientists, 0 to 280. Most scientists, 280, have 40 D-Index. The last bar groups every scientist with 121 D-Index or more. The highlighted bar, 103 D-Index, is where this scientist sits. 30 D-Index: 95 scientists 31 D-Index: 123 scientists 32 D-Index: 191 scientists 33 D-Index: 245 scientists 34 D-Index: 252 scientists 35 D-Index: 244 scientists 36 D-Index: 249 scientists 37 D-Index: 244 scientists 38 D-Index: 254 scientists 39 D-Index: 254 scientists 40 D-Index: 280 scientists 41 D-Index: 274 scientists 42 D-Index: 266 scientists 43 D-Index: 233 scientists 44 D-Index: 248 scientists 45 D-Index: 208 scientists 46 D-Index: 201 scientists 47 D-Index: 213 scientists 48 D-Index: 207 scientists 49 D-Index: 172 scientists 50 D-Index: 209 scientists 51 D-Index: 199 scientists 52 D-Index: 153 scientists 53 D-Index: 169 scientists 54 D-Index: 163 scientists 55 D-Index: 148 scientists 56 D-Index: 120 scientists 57 D-Index: 146 scientists 58 D-Index: 137 scientists 59 D-Index: 140 scientists 60 D-Index: 104 scientists 61 D-Index: 119 scientists 62 D-Index: 118 scientists 63 D-Index: 99 scientists 64 D-Index: 77 scientists 65 D-Index: 100 scientists 66 D-Index: 86 scientists 67 D-Index: 83 scientists 68 D-Index: 75 scientists 69 D-Index: 94 scientists 70 D-Index: 57 scientists 71 D-Index: 68 scientists 72 D-Index: 59 scientists 73 D-Index: 63 scientists 74 D-Index: 66 scientists 75 D-Index: 60 scientists 76 D-Index: 42 scientists 77 D-Index: 49 scientists 78 D-Index: 39 scientists 79 D-Index: 37 scientists 80 D-Index: 43 scientists 81 D-Index: 41 scientists 82 D-Index: 45 scientists 83 D-Index: 34 scientists 84 D-Index: 40 scientists 85 D-Index: 35 scientists 86 D-Index: 55 scientists 87 D-Index: 24 scientists 88 D-Index: 24 scientists 89 D-Index: 30 scientists 90 D-Index: 23 scientists 91 D-Index: 25 scientists 92 D-Index: 27 scientists 93 D-Index: 27 scientists 94 D-Index: 13 scientists 95 D-Index: 23 scientists 96 D-Index: 12 scientists 97 D-Index: 14 scientists 98 D-Index: 19 scientists 99 D-Index: 16 scientists 100 D-Index: 14 scientists 101 D-Index: 5 scientists 102 D-Index: 21 scientists 103 D-Index: 16 scientists 104 D-Index: 10 scientists 105 D-Index: 7 scientists 106 D-Index: 7 scientists 107 D-Index: 7 scientists 108 D-Index: 6 scientists 109 D-Index: 9 scientists 110 D-Index: 11 scientists 111 D-Index: 12 scientists 112 D-Index: 9 scientists 113 D-Index: 7 scientists 114 D-Index: 3 scientists 115 D-Index: 8 scientists 116 D-Index: 5 scientists 117 D-Index: 11 scientists 118 D-Index: 4 scientists 119 D-Index: 2 scientists 120 D-Index: 5 scientists 121+ D-Index: 100 scientists
30 D-Index 121+

This scientist: 103 D-Index — 97th percentile

97% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 121 D-Index or more.

View D-Index distribution as a table
Number of Ecology and Evolution scientists by D-index, Research.com 2026 ranking edition. Based on 8,381 ranked scientists.
D-Index Scientists This scientist
30 95
31 123
32 191
33 245
34 252
35 244
36 249
37 244
38 254
39 254
40 280
41 274
42 266
43 233
44 248
45 208
46 201
47 213
48 207
49 172
50 209
51 199
52 153
53 169
54 163
55 148
56 120
57 146
58 137
59 140
60 104
61 119
62 118
63 99
64 77
65 100
66 86
67 83
68 75
69 94
70 57
71 68
72 59
73 63
74 66
75 60
76 42
77 49
78 39
79 37
80 43
81 41
82 45
83 34
84 40
85 35
86 55
87 24
88 24
89 30
90 23
91 25
92 27
93 27
94 13
95 23
96 12
97 14
98 19
99 16
100 14
101 5
102 21
103 16 103
104 10
105 7
106 7
107 7
108 6
109 9
110 11
111 12
112 9
113 7
114 3
115 8
116 5
117 11
118 4
119 2
120 5
121+ 100
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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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