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Government institution · Washington · United States

National Park Service

In research, National Park Service stands highest in Physical Sciences (#5,159 of 12,888 worldwide), Environmental Science (#1,997 of 3,551 worldwide) and Ecology (#480 of 578 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Ecology, Atmospheric Science and Global and Planetary Change — Ecology is 26.3× its share of world research.

nps.govROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#8,258
of 28,054 · #4,521 all time
Rank in United States
#1,101
of 4,192
Research works
3k
▲ 4% vs 2013–17
Citations
64k
21.6 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
13.2%
record average 16.5%
Open access
35%
world 28%

What is National Park Service known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Physical SciencesDomain #5,159 of 12,888 13.7%237 #3611
Environmental ScienceField #1,997 of 3,551 13.9%168 #956
EcologySubfield #480 of 578 13.9%75 #452

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where National Park Service sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Physical Sciences#3,611 #5,159
  2. Environmental Science#956 #1,997
  3. Ecology#452 #480
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does National Park Service specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Ecology takes 26.3× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. EcologySubfield · 75.0 works26×
  2. Atmospheric ScienceSubfield · 24.6 works15×
  3. Global and Planetary ChangeSubfield · 27.4 works9.9×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 1.77× its world share, 30 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.77× its world share, 15 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.93× its world share, 3 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.18× its world share, 1 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.20× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemistry: 0.06× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.26× its world share, 7 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 9.02× its world share, 51 worksEarth and Planetary …Engineering: 0.15× its world share, 8 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 9.31× its world share, 168 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.25× its world share, 1 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.66× its world share, 6 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.14× its world share, 10 worksMedicineNursing: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 5.63× its world share, 3 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.33× its world share, 14 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.12× its world share, 1 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.20× its world share, 1 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.52× its world share, 4 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.87× its world share, 10 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.59× its world share, 27 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Environmental Science, 9.3×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at National Park Service?

Ranked on the composite score, William C. Malm, Francis McManamon and Robert M. Utley lead among researchers whose main affiliation is National Park Service.

  1. 1 William C. Malm United States · #61,440 worldwide 463 citations · 54 works
  2. 2 Francis McManamon United States · #223,345 worldwide 55 citations · 25 works
  3. 3 Robert M. Utley United States · #230,766 worldwide 43 citations · 38 works
  4. 4 Erik K. Reed United States · #248,219 worldwide 88 citations · 26 works
  5. 5 Herbert W. Meyer United States · #457,256 worldwide 61 citations · 30 works
  6. 6 Seth P. D. Riley United States · #477,643 worldwide 167 citations · 15 works
  7. 7 Francis P. Noe United States · #482,203 worldwide 86 citations · 16 works
  8. 8 Douglas D. Scott United States · #483,535 worldwide 33 citations · 40 works
  9. 9 Albert H. Schroeder United States · #486,781 worldwide 46 citations · 18 works
  10. 10 John H. Jameson United States · #511,353 worldwide 35 citations · 21 works
All ranked researchers at National Park Service

Which keywords describe research at National Park Service?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Biodiversity, Conservation, Invasive Species, Population Dynamics, Remote Sensing, Habitat Selection and Trophic Cascades.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Climate Change120▲ 12×64 topics
  2. Biodiversity50▲ 19×24 topics
  3. Conservation44▲ 28×21 topics
  4. Invasive Species40▲ 26×18 topics
  5. Population Dynamics35▲ 38×11 topics
  6. Remote Sensing35▲ 7.7×22 topics
  7. Habitat Selection22▲ 83×2 topics
  8. Trophic Cascades22▲ 63×2 topics
  9. Ecosystem20▲ 52×4 topics
  10. Habitat Fragmentation20▲ 25×5 topics
  11. Conservation Biology20▲ 53×3 topics
  12. Animal Movement19▲ 97×1 topic
  13. Occupancy Rates19▲ 97×1 topic
  14. Ecosystem Resilience18▲ 34×5 topics
  15. Model Evaluation18▲ 39×2 topics
  16. Citizen Science17▲ 48×3 topics
  17. Ecosystem Services16▲ 11×9 topics
  18. Ecological Niche16▲ 74×1 topic
  19. Species Distribution Modeling16▲ 74×1 topic
  20. Hydrology13▲ 28×3 topics
  21. Global Change12▲ 13×6 topics
  22. Resilience12▲ 6.9×4 topics
  23. Soil Properties12▲ 19×5 topics
  24. Sagebrush12▲ 212×1 topic
  25. Wildlife Habitat12▲ 212×1 topic
  26. Cultural Heritage11▲ 5.5×12 topics
  27. Forest Fires11▲ 68×1 topic
  28. Species Richness11▲ 46×2 topics
  29. Wildfire Activity11▲ 68×1 topic
  30. Arctic11▲ 26×4 topics
  31. Biogeography10▲ 11×16 topics
  32. Fisheries Sustainability10▲ 30×2 topics
  33. Sea-Level Rise10▲ 24×5 topics
  34. Predator-Prey Interactions10▲ 33×3 topics
  35. Freshwater Biodiversity10▲ 43×2 topics
  36. Acoustic Communication9▲ 50×2 topics
  37. Biological Invasions9▲ 27×3 topics
  38. Community Ecology8▲ 28×2 topics
  39. Functional Diversity8▲ 40×1 topic
  40. Sediment Transport8▲ 14×5 topics

Which research topics does National Park Service publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Species Distribution and Climate Change, Rangeland and Wildlife Management and Fire effects on ecosystems.

Wildlife Ecology and Conservation: 19 fractional worksSpecies Distribution and Climate Change: 16 fractional worksRangeland and Wildlife M…12Rangeland and Wildlife Management: 12 fractional worksFire effects on ecosystems11Fire effects on ecosystems: 11 fractional worksEcology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies: 8 fractional worksMarine animal studies overview: 7 fractional worksFish Ecology and Managem…7Fish Ecology and Management Studies: 7 fractional worksClimate change and permafrost: 6 fractional worksCryospheric studies and observations: 5 fractional worksGeology and Paleoclimatology Research: 5 fractional works
EcologyEcological ModelingGlobal and Planetary ChangeNature and Landscape Conservation1 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Ecology 19 works
  2. 2 Species Distribution and Climate Change Ecological Modeling 16 works
  3. 3 Rangeland and Wildlife Management Ecology 12 works
  4. 4 Fire effects on ecosystems Global and Planetary Change 11 works
  5. 5 Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies Nature and Landscape Conservation 8 works
  6. 6 Marine animal studies overview Ecology 7 works
  7. 7 Fish Ecology and Management Studies Nature and Landscape Conservation 7 works
  8. 8 Climate change and permafrost Atmospheric Science 6 works
  9. 9 Cryospheric studies and observations Atmospheric Science 5 works
  10. 10 Geology and Paleoclimatology Research Atmospheric Science 5 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available35.3%not open64.7%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors10.5%domestic only89.5%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has National Park Service's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 4% higher than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Washington

All research institutions in Washington

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.