In addition to his field guides, he has written several articles on amateur and commercial mushroom hunting, its role in the economic development of rural communities, and about conflicts related to conservation issues related to mushroom hunting.
Arora has also authored or contributed to several papers on fungal taxonomy. In 1982, he co-authored an extensive description of the stinkhorn species Clathrus archeri, documenting its first known appearance in North America, an extensive fruiting of this species in his home town of Santa Cruz. In 2008, he was primary author of two papers that provided a taxonomic revision of the California golden chanterelle and of several species in the Boletus edulis complex found in California. The California golden chanterelle was described as a distinct species, Cantharellus californicus, while several California porcini species were described as distinct species or subspecies, Boletus edulis var. grandedulis, Boletus regineus (formerly describes as Boletus aereus), and Boletus rex-veris (formerly described as Boletus pinophilus).
The mushroom Agaricus arorae is named after David Arora. In his book All that the Rain Promises and More..., Arora notes that it "'bleeds' readily like its namesake when cut," a reference to the tendency of some Agaricus species (including A. arorae) to "bleed" or stain red when cut or bruised. In 2004 Arora left his long time home of Santa Cruz and moved north to Mendocino county settling near the coastal town of Gualala, California.
