Emma J. Sayer

5.5k total citations · 2 hit papers
81 papers, 3.8k citations indexed

About

Emma J. Sayer is a scholar working on Soil Science, Nature and Landscape Conservation and Global and Planetary Change. According to data from OpenAlex, Emma J. Sayer has authored 81 papers receiving a total of 3.8k indexed citations (citations by other indexed papers that have themselves been cited), including 48 papers in Soil Science, 41 papers in Nature and Landscape Conservation and 31 papers in Global and Planetary Change. Recurrent topics in Emma J. Sayer's work include Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics (47 papers), Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies (34 papers) and Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics (15 papers). Emma J. Sayer is often cited by papers focused on Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics (47 papers), Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies (34 papers) and Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics (15 papers). Emma J. Sayer collaborates with scholars based in United Kingdom, Panama and China. Emma J. Sayer's co-authors include Edmund V. J. Tanner, E. V. J. Tanner, Benjamin L. Turner, Lingli Liu, Shimeng Xu, S. Joseph Wright‬, Matthew S. Heard, Jennifer S. Powers, Kyle E. Harms and Milton N. Garcia and has published in prestigious journals such as Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología.

In The Last Decade

Emma J. Sayer

81 papers receiving 3.7k citations

Hit Papers

align trajectories

What are hit papers?

Hit papers significantly outperform the citation benchmark for their cohort. A paper qualifies if it has ≥500 total citations, achieves ≥1.5× the top-1% citation threshold for papers in the same subfield and year (this is the minimum needed to enter the top 1%, not the average within it), or reaches the top citation threshold in at least one of its specific research topics.

Using experimental manipulation to assess the roles of leaf litter in the functioning of forest ecosystems

2005 624 citations Emma J. Sayer profile →
Potassium, phosphorus, or nitrogen limit root allocation, tree growth, or litter production in a lowland tropical forest

2011 472 citations S. Joseph Wright‬, Joseph B. Yavitt et al. Ecology profile →

Peers — A (Enhanced Table)

Peers by citation overlap · career bar shows stage (early→late) cites · hero ref

Name	h						Papers	Cites
Emma J. Sayer United Kingdom	32	2.0k	1.4k	1.2k	1.1k	857	81	3.8k
E. Carol Adair United States	23	1.7k 0.9×	1.6k 1.1×	1.9k 1.6×	1.3k 1.2×	770 0.9×	41	4.6k
Pablo García‐Palacios Spain	37	2.3k 1.1×	1.6k 1.1×	1.8k 1.5×	1.2k 1.1×	1.2k 1.4×	78	5.1k
Alexandru Milcu France	30	1.4k 0.7×	1.3k 0.9×	875 0.7×	784 0.7×	1.0k 1.2×	58	3.1k
Bonnie G. Waring United States	25	1.9k 0.9×	714 0.5×	1.2k 1.0×	590 0.5×	723 0.8×	55	3.0k
Dima Chen China	34	2.9k 1.4×	943 0.7×	1.9k 1.5×	696 0.6×	1.6k 1.8×	96	4.5k
Qiang Yu China	34	1.8k 0.9×	1.4k 1.0×	1.3k 1.0×	1.1k 1.0×	1.3k 1.5×	125	3.9k
Edmund V. J. Tanner United Kingdom	25	1.1k 0.5×	1.3k 0.9×	751 0.6×	825 0.7×	590 0.7×	33	2.6k
Heather L. Throop United States	30	1.2k 0.6×	1.1k 0.7×	1.1k 0.9×	1.1k 1.0×	629 0.7×	69	3.0k
Sara G. Baer United States	31	1.2k 0.6×	1.4k 1.0×	1.4k 1.1×	589 0.5×	784 0.9×	92	3.3k
Elvira Cuevas Puerto Rico	27	1.6k 0.8×	1.3k 0.9×	1.2k 1.0×	937 0.8×	814 0.9×	55	3.8k

Countries citing papers authored by Emma J. Sayer

Since Specialization

Citations

This map shows the geographic impact of Emma J. Sayer's research. It shows the number of citations coming from papers published by authors working in each country. You can also color the map by specialization and compare the number of citations received by Emma J. Sayer with the expected number of citations based on a country's size and research output (numbers larger than one mean the country cites Emma J. Sayer more than expected).

Fields of papers citing papers by Emma J. Sayer

Since Specialization

Physical SciencesHealth SciencesLife SciencesSocial Sciences

This network shows the impact of papers produced by Emma J. Sayer. Nodes represent research fields, and links connect fields that are likely to share authors. Colored nodes show fields that tend to cite the papers produced by Emma J. Sayer. The network helps show where Emma J. Sayer may publish in the future.

Co-authorship network of co-authors of Emma J. Sayer

This figure shows the co-authorship network connecting the top 25 collaborators of Emma J. Sayer. A scholar is included among the top collaborators of Emma J. Sayer based on the total number of citations received by their joint publications. Widths of edges represent the number of papers authors have co-authored together. Node borders signify the number of papers an author published with Emma J. Sayer. Emma J. Sayer is excluded from the visualization to improve readability, since they are connected to all nodes in the network.

All Works

Sort: Min cites: Since: Top N: Style:

20 of 20 papers shown

Reay, Michaela K., Emma J. Sayer, Andrew R. Smith, et al.. (2025). Elevated CO ₂ alters relative belowground carbon investment for nutrient acquisition in a mature temperate forest. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 122(29). e2503595122–e2503595122. 1 indexed citations

Sayer, Emma J., Ji Ye, Zuoqiang Yuan, et al.. (2025). Tree mycorrhizal associations regulate relationships between plant and microbial communities and soil organic carbon stocks at local scales in a temperate forest. Functional Ecology. 39(6). 1550–1566. 1 indexed citations

Hofmann, M, et al.. (2025). Salutogenic Effects of Greenspace Exposure: An Integrated Biopsychological Perspective on Stress Regulation, Mental and Physical Health in the Urban Population. SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología. 7(1). 1 indexed citations

Pihlblad, Johanna, Fotis Sgouridis, Michaela K. Reay, et al.. (2025). Root exudate stoichiometry is a key driver of soil N cycling: implications for forest responses to global change. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 208. 109856–109856. 2 indexed citations

Ferry, Lara A., Dustin J. Marshall, Katie J. Field, et al.. (2024). Functional Ecology is moving to open access. Functional Ecology. 38(7). 1462–1463. 1 indexed citations

Sayer, Emma J., S. Joseph Wright‬, Chadtip Rodtassana, et al.. (2024). Tropical forest above‐ground productivity is maintained by nutrients cycled in litter. Journal of Ecology. 112(4). 690–700. 10 indexed citations

Gauci, Vincent, Sunitha Pangala, Alexander Shenkin, et al.. (2024). Global atmospheric methane uptake by upland tree woody surfaces. Nature. 631(8022). 796–800. 32 indexed citations

Sanaei, Anvar, Emma J. Sayer, Zuoqiang Yuan, et al.. (2023). Grazing intensity alters the plant diversity–ecosystem carbon storage relationship in rangelands across topographic and climatic gradients. Functional Ecology. 37(3). 703–718. 12 indexed citations

Lü, Zhe, Hui Li, Emma J. Sayer, et al.. (2023). Enhanced abundance of generalist and litter saprotrophs explain increased tropical forest soil carbon with long‐term nitrogen deposition. Functional Ecology. 37(8). 2282–2296. 5 indexed citations

10.

Brunn, Melanie, Benjamin Häfner, Marie J. Zwetsloot, et al.. (2022). Carbon allocation to root exudates is maintained in mature temperate tree species under drought. New Phytologist. 235(3). 965–977. 48 indexed citations

11.

Yu, Shiqin, Emma J. Sayer, Zhian Li, et al.. (2022). Delayed wet season increases soil net N mineralization in a seasonally dry tropical forest. The Science of The Total Environment. 823. 153314–153314. 14 indexed citations

12.

Haygarth, P. M., Malika M. Mezeli, Emma J. Sayer, et al.. (2021). On pedagogy of a Soil Science Centre for Doctoral Training. European Journal of Soil Science. 72(6). 2320–2329. 1 indexed citations

13.

Urbina, Ifigenia, Oriol Grau, Jordi Sardans, et al.. (2021). High foliar K and P resorption efficiencies in old‐growth tropical forests growing on nutrient‐poor soils. Ecology and Evolution. 11(13). 8969–8982. 26 indexed citations

14.

Nunes, Cássio Alencar, Jos Barlow, Filipe França, et al.. (2021). Functional redundancy of Amazonian dung beetles confers community‐level resistance to primary forest disturbance. Biotropica. 53(6). 1510–1521. 11 indexed citations

15.

Li, Ping, Emma J. Sayer, Zhou Jia, et al.. (2020). Deepened winter snow cover enhances net ecosystem exchange and stabilizes plant community composition and productivity in a temperate grassland. Global Change Biology. 26(5). 3015–3027. 61 indexed citations

16.

Sayer, Emma J., Luis Lopez‐Sangil, John A. Crawford, et al.. (2019). Tropical forest soil carbon stocks do not increase despite 15 years of doubled litter inputs. Scientific Reports. 9(1). 18030–18030. 51 indexed citations

17.

Drewer, Julia, et al.. (2017). The impact of land-use change from forest to oil palm on soil greenhouse gas and volatile organic compound fluxes in Malaysian Borneo. EGUGA. 6495. 1 indexed citations

18.

Sayer, Emma J., Helen Featherstone, & William D. Gosling. (2014). Sex & Bugs & Rock ‘n Roll – getting creative about public engagement. Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 29(2). 65–67. 8 indexed citations

19.

Xu, Shimeng, Lingli Liu, & Emma J. Sayer. (2013). Variability of above-ground litter inputs alters soil physicochemical and biological processes: a meta-analysis of litterfall-manipulation experiments. Biogeosciences. 10(11). 7423–7433. 196 indexed citations

20.

Wright‬, S. Joseph, Joseph B. Yavitt, Nina Wurzburger, et al.. (2011). Potassium, phosphorus, or nitrogen limit root allocation, tree growth, or litter production in a lowland tropical forest. Ecology. 92(8). 1616–1625. 472 indexed citations breakdown →

Rankless uses publication and citation data sourced from OpenAlex, an open and comprehensive bibliographic database. While OpenAlex provides broad and valuable coverage of the global research landscape, it—like all bibliographic datasets—has inherent limitations. These include incomplete records, variations in author disambiguation, differences in journal indexing, and delays in data updates. As a result, some metrics and network relationships displayed in Rankless may not fully capture the entirety of a scholar's output or impact.

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