David John Eldridge

David John Eldridge | JRNLClub

Research Statement

AI generated · 5d ago

David John Eldridge's research centers on how dryland ecosystems respond to disturbance, with a particular emphasis on biological soil crusts and their role in soil stability, hydrology and nutrient cycling. His highly cited review of microbiotic soil crusts in Australian rangelands helped establish the ecological significance of these communities, while later work examined how biocrusts influence water movement across the world's drylands, a synthesis now cited nearly 300 times. A parallel strand addresses shrub encroachment and its impacts on ecosystem structure and functioning, a global synthesis with over 1,200 citations, alongside studies showing that livestock grazing degrades rangeland structure, function and composition. Beyond these lead-author contributions, Eldridge participated in large global dryland consortia, including a global atlas of dominant soil bacteria and work linking soil biodiversity to ecosystem functions across biomes, both middle-author contributions reflecting broad collaborative networks. His senior-authored overview, biocrusts as the living skin of the earth, distills this expertise for a wider audience. No software, datasets, patents or grants are indexed beyond his publications. Across three decades, the through-line is a sustained effort to quantify how grazing, aridity and crust disturbance reshape the soils and vegetation of the world's drylands.

Most Cited Works

A global atlas of the dominant bacteria found in soil

Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Angela M Oliverio, Tess E Brewer, Alberto Benavent-González, David J Eldridge, Richard D Bardgett, Fernando T Maestre, Brajesh K Singh, Noah Fierer

Science2018

2,313Citations

Plant Species Richness and Ecosystem Multifunctionality in Global Drylands

Fernando T Maestre, José L Quero, Nicholas J Gotelli, Adrián Escudero, Victoria Ochoa, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Miguel García-Gómez,

Research Areas

Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesSoil Carbon and Nitrogen DynamicsRangeland and Wildlife ManagementBiocrusts and Microbial EcologySoil erosion and sediment transport

Affiliations & Education

Employment

1993–2026
UNSW Sydney(AU)

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David John Eldridge

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