Match tier
Confirmed
Presence
Current · Arkansas
Last published
2026
Sources
OpenAlex · ORCID
Refreshed
2026-10-08
K
Kusum J. Naithani
Affiliation confirmed via AI analysis of OpenAlex, ORCID, and web sources.
Federal Grant PI
Associate Professor / Department Vice Chair
Also affiliated: University of Wyoming (2007–2018); Pennsylvania State University (2012–2013)
13 h-index
74 pubs
1,023 cited
Research Areas
Biomedical Subjects
Links
Biography and Research Information
OverviewAI-generated summary
Kusum Naithani's research focuses on ecological and environmental science, with a particular emphasis on soil microbiology, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. She holds an h-index of 13 with 72 publications and 991 citations. Naithani has been a principal investigator or co-principal investigator on two National Science Foundation (NSF) grants totaling $878,466. These grants support research and education initiatives focused on the assessment and sustainable management of ecosystem services within food, energy, and water systems, including REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) sites.
Her recent publications explore diverse areas within environmental science. These include the utilization of NEON (National Ecological Observatory Network) data for open environmental science, the evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions in the food and beverage sector, and the development of data-wrangling tools for microbial ecology. Naithani also investigates the recovery of soil microbial diversity and functions following disturbance in tropical montane forests, the impact of grazing on insect biodiversity in pastures, and the use of bee morphology to understand foraging ranges and conservation needs. She actively collaborates with researchers at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, including Megan Reavis, Ayanna St. Rose, Neelendra K. Joshi, and Andy Pereira.
Metrics
- h-index: 13
- Publications: 74
- Citations: 1,023
Positions
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Associate Professor / Department Vice Chair 2021–presentUniversity of Arkansas Department of Biological Sciences ORCID
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Associate Professor 2021–presentUniversity of Arkansas Fayetteville Biological Sciences ORCID
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Vice Chair and Graduate Studies Coordinator 2022–2024University of Arkansas at Fayetteville Biological Sciences ORCID
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Assistant Professor 2014–2021University of Arkansas Fayetteville Biological Sciences ORCID
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Research Associate 2011–2014The Pennsylvania State University Geography ORCID
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Postdoctoral Associate 2009–2011Pennsylvania State University Geography ORCID
Selected Publications
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CU-ESIIL/Innovation-Summit-2025: 1.1.0 (2026)
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CU-ESIIL/Innovation-Summit-2025: 1.1.0 (2026)
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Modeling rice leaf area index and canopy height in the US Mid‐South region (2025)
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Unraveling the Influence of Structural Complexity, Environmental, and Geographic Factors on Multi‐Trophic Biodiversity in Forested Landscapes (2025)
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Combined Landscape Complexity is A Better Indicator of Ecosystem Multifunctionality in Forested Ecosystems than Physical or Biological Complexity Alone (2024)
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Intertegular Distance of Wild Bees and its Use in Estimating Proboscis Lengths and Foraging Ranges to Better Understand Bee Conservation Ecology (2024)
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Sheep grazing influences the abundance, diversity, and community composition of wild bees and other insects in livestock pastures (2024)
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A Problem with Distance Variables and Alternatives for Their Use (2024)
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Effects of measurement methods and growing conditions on phenotypic expression of photosynthesis in seven diverse rice genotypes (2023)
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People, infrastructure, and data: A pathway to an inclusive and diverse ecological network of networks (2022)
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Recovery of soil microbial diversity and functions along a tropical montane forest disturbance gradient (2022)
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Building communities of teaching practice and data‐driven open education resources with NEON faculty mentoring networks (2022)
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Evaluating Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Mitigation Goals of the Global Food and Beverage Sector (2022)
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Harnessing the NEON data revolution to advance open environmental science with a diverse and data‐capable community (2021)
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From DNA sequences to microbial ecology: Wrangling NEON soil microbe data with the neonMicrobe R package (2021)
Federal Grants 2 $878,466 total
NSF
PI
Mar 2024 - Feb 2027
NSF
Co-PI
Mar 2021 - Feb 2025
Collaboration Network
Top Collaborators
Jessica Moon
Murray State University (US)
5 shared publications
- Land-use and land-cover effects on soil microbial community abundance and composition in headwater riparian wetlands
- Model application niche analysis: assessing the transferability and generalizability of ecological models
- Recovery of soil microbial diversity and functions along a tropical montane forest disturbance gradient
- Fine‐scale spatial homogenization of microbial habitats: a multivariate index of headwater wetland complex condition
- Soil microbial diversity and litter decomposition increase along a forest recovery gradient in tropical montane forests of Malaysian Borneo
Erica A. H. Smithwick
Pennsylvania State University (US)
5 shared publications
- Fine‐scale spatial homogenization of microbial habitats: a multivariate index of headwater wetland complex condition
- Grassland productivity in response to nutrient additions and herbivory is scale-dependent
- Quantifying spatial patterns of grass response to nutrient additions using empirical and neutral semivariogram models
- Quantifying spatial patterns of grass response to nutrient additions using empirical and neutral semivariogram models
- Faculty Opinions recommendation of Parameter and prediction uncertainty in an optimized terrestrial carbon cycle model: Effects of constraining variables and data record length.
Neelendra K. Joshi
University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
4 shared publications
In database
- Population Dynamics and Flight Phenology Model of Codling Moth Differ between Commercial and Abandoned Apple Orchard Ecosystems
- Nest Modification Protects Immature Stages of the Japanese Orchard Bee (Osmia cornifrons) from Invasion of a Cleptoparasitic Mite Pest
- Sheep grazing influences the abundance, diversity, and community composition of wild bees and other insects in livestock pastures
- Intertegular Distance of Wild Bees and its Use in Estimating Proboscis Lengths and Foraging Ranges to Better Understand Bee Conservation Ecology
D. C. Baldwin
Pennsylvania State University (US)
3 shared publications
- Grassland productivity in response to nutrient additions and herbivory is scale-dependent
- Quantifying spatial patterns of grass response to nutrient additions using empirical and neutral semivariogram models
- Quantifying spatial patterns of grass response to nutrient additions using empirical and neutral semivariogram models
Megan A. Jones
National Ecological Observatory Network (US)
3 shared publications
- Building communities of teaching practice and data‐driven open education resources with NEON faculty mentoring networks
- NEON Data in the Classroom: Using the QUBES Platform and Faculty Mentoring Networks to Build, Adapt, and Publish Data-Driven Open Educational Resources
- Using the QUBES platform and NEON faculty mentoring networks to build, adapt, and publish data-driven open educational resources
Kristine L. Grayson
University of Richmond (US)
3 shared publications
- Building communities of teaching practice and data‐driven open education resources with NEON faculty mentoring networks
- NEON Data in the Classroom: Using the QUBES Platform and Faculty Mentoring Networks to Build, Adapt, and Publish Data-Driven Open Educational Resources
- Using the QUBES platform and NEON faculty mentoring networks to build, adapt, and publish data-driven open educational resources
Michael C. Farmer
Texas Tech University (US)
3 shared publications
- Recovery of soil microbial diversity and functions along a tropical montane forest disturbance gradient
- Soil microbial diversity and litter decomposition increase along a forest recovery gradient in tropical montane forests of Malaysian Borneo
- A Problem with Distance Variables and Alternatives for Their Use
Megan Reavis
University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
3 shared publications
In database
- Evaluating Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Mitigation Goals of the Global Food and Beverage Sector
- Evaluating the Landscape of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Mitigation Goals of the Global Food and Beverage Sector
- Effects of measurement methods and growing conditions on phenotypic expression of photosynthesis in seven diverse rice genotypes
Ayanna St. Rose
University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
3 shared publications
In database
- From DNA sequences to microbial ecology: Wrangling NEON soil microbe data with the neonMicrobe R package
- Unraveling the Influence of Structural Complexity, Environmental, and Geographic Factors on Multi‐Trophic Biodiversity in Forested Landscapes
- Combined Landscape Complexity is A Better Indicator of Ecosystem Multifunctionality in Forested Ecosystems than Physical or Biological Complexity Alone
Denice H. Wardrop
Pennsylvania State University (US)
2 shared publications
- Land-use and land-cover effects on soil microbial community abundance and composition in headwater riparian wetlands
- Fine‐scale spatial homogenization of microbial habitats: a multivariate index of headwater wetland complex condition
Elise Pendall
University of Wyoming (US)
2 shared publications
- Biophysical Factors and Canopy Coupling Control Ecosystem Water and Carbon Fluxes of Semiarid Sagebrush Ecosystems
- Model–data fusion approach to quantify evapotranspiration and net ecosystem exchange across the sagebrush ecosystem at different temporal resolutions
B. E. Ewers
University of Wyoming (US)
2 shared publications
- Biophysical Factors and Canopy Coupling Control Ecosystem Water and Carbon Fluxes of Semiarid Sagebrush Ecosystems
- Model–data fusion approach to quantify evapotranspiration and net ecosystem exchange across the sagebrush ecosystem at different temporal resolutions
Hyojung Kwon
Oregon State University (US)
2 shared publications
- Biophysical Factors and Canopy Coupling Control Ecosystem Water and Carbon Fluxes of Semiarid Sagebrush Ecosystems
- Model–data fusion approach to quantify evapotranspiration and net ecosystem exchange across the sagebrush ecosystem at different temporal resolutions
David J. Biddinger
Pennsylvania State University (US)
2 shared publications
- Nest Modification Protects Immature Stages of the Japanese Orchard Bee (Osmia cornifrons) from Invasion of a Cleptoparasitic Mite Pest
- Intertegular Distance of Wild Bees and its Use in Estimating Proboscis Lengths and Foraging Ranges to Better Understand Bee Conservation Ecology
Renee Sniegocki
University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
2 shared publications
In database
- Recovery of soil microbial diversity and functions along a tropical montane forest disturbance gradient
- Soil microbial diversity and litter decomposition increase along a forest recovery gradient in tropical montane forests of Malaysian Borneo
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