# Rapid shifts in grassland communities driven by climate change

*PRI Rank #18 · Topics and Trends in Most Cited Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies Papers, Class of 2026*

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/ecology-and-vegetation-dynamics-studies/2026/rank-18*

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Rank | #18 |
| 18m citations | 49 |
| Journal | Nature Ecology & Evolution |
| Year | 2024 |
| DOI | 10.1038/s41559-024-02552-z |
| Corresponding authors | Kai Zhu |
| Institution | University of Michigan, United States |

**Ranking page:** [Topics and Trends in Most Cited Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies Papers, Class of 2026](https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/ecology-and-vegetation-dynamics-studies/2026)

**Paper link:** [10.1038/s41559-024-02552-z](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02552-z)

## Topics

Grasslands · climate change response lag · California Floristic Province · climatic niche estimation · community composition datasets · Climate niche space · community thermophilization · warming-induced compositional shift · drying-induced compositional shift · short-lived species · vascular plant species · occurrence records · global change experiments · directional community shift · climate warming pace · climate drying pace · biodiversity change velocity · forest-grassland response contrast

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/ecology-and-vegetation-dynamics-studies/2026. Accessed 2026-07-21.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
```