People

Prof. Meelis Pärtel
Leader of macroecology workgroup, Professor of Botany
meelis.partel[at]ut.ee

My main research topic is macroecology of biodiversity. I am trying to look beyond the borders of the existing paradigm. I'm studying evolutionary and landscape history of ecological communities, elaborating new theories, methods and approaches. I have been intrigued by linking large- and small-scale processes with biodiversity, especially the species pool concept globally but also the effect of spatial heterogeneity. Besides taxonomic diversity, I have worked with genetic, functional, phylogenetic and below-ground diversity. My research themes have been global plant communities, but especially grasslands in different continents. In addition to leading the workgroup I am member of the Estonian Research Council and I serve as editor for Journal of Vegetation Science, Applied Vegetation Science and Oecologia.

I am the principal investigator in target financing grant "Aspects of biodiversity in plants: links to large- and small-scale processes" (2008-2013), Estonian Science Foundation grant "Plant diversity, species coexistence and environmental heterogeneity: challenging the existing paradigm" (2010-2013), and I'm participating in scientific projects of European Union ECOCHANGE and SCALES. See my CV and publication list in Estonian Research Portal.

Dr. Robert Szava-Kovats
Researcher
Robszav[at]ut.ee

My research concerns Global Ecology and Spatial Heterogeneity. A geoscientist by training, my specialty is data analysis and statistics, particularly analysis of compositional data. Specifically, I am involved in conducting meta-analyses and the development of new models to describe the effects of environmental gradients on biodiversity and species coexistence. I also study the effects of scale size on ecosystem analysis. In addition, I also advise my colleagues with respect to the abiotic aspects of ecosystems (i.e. geochemistry, pedology, chemical analysis).

I am a participant in Estonian Science Foundation research project: Plant diversity, species coexistence and environmental heterogeneity: challenging the existing paradigm, principal investigator: Meelis Pärtel.

See my CV and publication list in the Estonian Research Portal.

Dr. Pille Gerhold
Researcher
pille.gerhold[at]ut.ee

My research subject within the macroecology workgroup is Phylodiversity. I focus on phylogenetic diversity of natural plant communities and possible links to other community parameters such as species richness, productivity, functional diversity and invasiveness.
Together with my colleagues I analysed 26 Estonian plant communities across a wide range of environments and found that communities consisting of phylogenetically distinct species recruit from larger regional species pools than communities of closely related species (Gerhold et al. 2008). This means that there are more species available in a region (i.e. Estonia) that are suitable for growing in phylogenetically diverse communities than there are species for phylogenetically poor communities. This knowledge could help to us to develop measures for conservation and restoration ecology: phylogenetically rich communities could be more easily restored because suitable species are abundantly available in the region.
I collaborate with Prof. Andreas Prinzing, Rennes 1 University, France, and Dr. Francesco de Bello, University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic.
See my homepage, CV (in ETIS) and publications (in ETIS).

My homepage: http://www.botany.ut.ee/pille.gerhold/index.html

CV (in ETIS): https://www.etis.ee/portaal/isikuCV.aspx?LastNameFirstLetter=G&PersonVID=2064&FromUrl0=isikud.aspx&lang=en

Publications (in ETIS): https://www.etis.ee/portaal/isikuPublikatsioonid.aspx?LastNameFirstLetter=G&PersonVID=2064&FromUrl0=isikud.aspx&lang=en

Dr. Aveliina Helm
Researcher
aveliina.helm[at]ut.ee

My research interests cover the topic of Landscape History in the workgroup. In general, I study the plant species richness, species composition and species traits of recently fragmented (semi-natural) communities. I aim to reveal the effects of habitat loss, historical and current spatial configuration and human influence on different aspects of biodiversity. My special interest is the extinction debt phenomenon. Together with my students, I work towards identifying the species that are most threatened by the recent fragmentation and severe area loss.
My work is mostly conducted on species-rich calcareous grasslands called alvars, but I also carry out work in other types of semi-natural communities in Estonia and elsewhere in Europe.

I am the principal investigator in the grant project financed by Estonian Science Foundation (Loss of biodiversity in fragmented plant communities, duration 2008-2011) and I participate in FP6 an FP7 projects COCONUT and STEP.

See my CV and publication list in Estonian Research Portal.

Dr. Jesse Kalwij
Senior researcher
I am originally from the Netherlands but obtained my PhD in Switzerland on the spatiotemporal dynamics of pasture woodlands in the Jura Mountains. Just recently I joined our Institute as a Senior Researcher after spending five years as a postdoctoral fellow in Stellenbosch, South Africa. I investigate relationships between plants or plant communities and biotic or abiotic landscape patterns. For example I recently published an article on the effect of artificial watering points on landscape patterns in an African savanna. I have also developed a keen interest in the spatiotemporal distribution of exotic plants along altitudinal gradients. I call myself a broad plant ecologist with specific scientific interests varying from macroecology, landscape ecology and plant ecology to the application of statistics, GIS and remote sensing in ecology. Together with Prof Meelis Pärtel and Martin Zobel I will focus on global macroecological questions and collaborate in other projects within the FIBIR. You can read more about my research and interests on my extended academic webpage.

Dr Jodi Price
Researcher
Jodi.Price[at]ut.ee
My research interests are in the area of Global Ecology. I am broadly interested in plant community ecology of herbaceous ecosystems. To date my research has focused on community structure, species coexistence and richness, disturbance and land-use history, and invasion biology. My current research is focussed on community assembly of species-rich grassy ecosystems. The aim of my research is to examine if deterministic assembly rules can be found for ecologically similar but evolutionary different species-rich grassland communities in Europe, Australia and South America. I am examining community assembly processes at three different levels â species, phylogeny and functional groups. If I do find evidence for assembly rules at this scale this would provide strong evidence that niche-based explanations are applicable to these ecosystems.

M.Sc. Inga Hiiesalu
Doctoral student
inga.hiiesalu[at]ut.ee
My research topic is root diversity. I am interested in plant diversity patters below-ground and how they might differ from well-studied patterns above-ground. I am also finding it a challenge to develop the methodology for identifying plant species from roots. I combine conventional fieldwork methods in plant ecology with the new generation pyrosequencing techniques. My Doctoral thesis is supervised by Meelis Pärtel and Scott Wilson from Canada.

M.Sc. Liina Saar
Doctoral student
liina.saar[at]ut.ee

My study area is Landscape History. My main interests are related to the effects of human-induced habitat fragmentation and resultant changes in biodiversity. I concentrate on loss of biodiversity in semi-natural plant communities in Estonia. My aims are to identify the traits and abundances of species that might be most endangered and to explore how different diversity indices are associated with loss of habitats and fragmentation.
I participate in grant projects Loss of biodiversity in fragmented plant communities and Aspects of biodiversity in plants: links to large- and small-scale processes. See my CV in Estonian Research Portal. My supervisors are Professor Meelis Pärtel and Researcher Aveliina Helm.

M.Sc. Krista Takkis
Doctoral student
krista.takkis[at]ut.ee

My study concentrates on the changes in plant traits in the context of Landscape History. I aim to determine how landscape changes during the past century have affected the genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of different meadow species. In particular, I study the effect of habitat fragmentation on plant traits. My study concentrates on Estonian semi-natural alvar grasslands and my supervisors are Professor Meelis Pärtel and Researcher Aveliina Helm.

Riin Tamme
Masterâs student
riin.tamme[at]ut.ee

My research topic in the macroecology workgroup is Spatial Heterogeneity. I study the influence of environmental small-scale spatial heterogeneity on plant species diversity. The supervisor of my masterâs thesis is Professor Meelis Pärtel.

Ave Uustal
Masterâs student
aveuu[at]ut.ee
My master thesis focuses on the diversity of calciphilous plant species in old limestone quarries. By using quarry vegetation as a model system, I will identify the migration paths and potential refugiums for species originally native to semi-natural grasslands. My supervisor is Researcher Aveliina Helm.

Egle Järlov
Masterâs student
egle7[at]ut.ee
The theme of my research in the macroecology workgroup is Phylodiversity. I study the formation of different phylogenetic structures in natural plant communities on Canary Islands. My supervisor is Researcher Pille Gerhold.

Triin Sakermaa
Masterâs student
sakermaa[at]ut.ee
I am a first year masterâs student in the macroecology workgroup. For my masterâs thesis I study Phylodiversity under the supervision of Researcher Pille Gerhold.

Kaia Aher
Masterâs student
akaia[at]ut.ee
For my masterâs thesis I study Phylodiversity of grasslands and its relationship with colonisation and extinction processes. My supervisor is Researcher Pille Gerhold.

Liis Kasari
Masterâs student
lkasari[at]ut.ee
In my master thesis, I study the importance of distribution, shape, allocation and age structure of juniper (Juniperus communis) scrubs on alvar grasslands. I investigate how to achieve maximal species richness in protected alvar grasslands while ensuring the persistence of viable juniper populations. My supervisor is Researcher Aveliina Helm.

Prof. Meelis Pärtel
Leader of macroecology workgroup, Professor of Botany
meelis.partel[at]ut.ee

My main research topic is macroecology of biodiversity. I am trying to look beyond the borders of the existing paradigm. I'm studying evolutionary and landscape history of ecological communities, elaborating new theories, methods and approaches. I have been intrigued by linking large- and small-scale processes with biodiversity, especially the species pool concept globally but also the effect of spatial heterogeneity. Besides taxonomic diversity, I have worked with genetic, functional, phylogenetic and below-ground diversity. My research themes have been global plant communities, but especially grasslands in different continents. In addition to leading the workgroup I am member of the Estonian Research Council and I serve as editor for Journal of Vegetation Science, Applied Vegetation Science and Oecologia.

I am the principal investigator in target financing grant "Aspects of biodiversity in plants: links to large- and small-scale processes" (2008-2013), Estonian Science Foundation grant "Plant diversity, species coexistence and environmental heterogeneity: challenging the existing paradigm" (2010-2013), and I'm participating in scientific projects of European Union ECOCHANGE and SCALES. See my CV and publication list in Estonian Research Portal.

Dr. Robert Szava-Kovats
Researcher
Robszav[at]ut.ee

My research concerns Global Ecology and Spatial Heterogeneity. A geoscientist by training, my specialty is data analysis and statistics, particularly analysis of compositional data. Specifically, I am involved in conducting meta-analyses and the development of new models to describe the effects of environmental gradients on biodiversity and species coexistence. I also study the effects of scale size on ecosystem analysis. In addition, I also advise my colleagues with respect to the abiotic aspects of ecosystems (i.e. geochemistry, pedology, chemical analysis).

I am a participant in Estonian Science Foundation research project: Plant diversity, species coexistence and environmental heterogeneity: challenging the existing paradigm, principal investigator: Meelis Pärtel.

See my CV and publication list in the Estonian Research Portal.

Dr. Pille Gerhold
Researcher
pille.gerhold[at]ut.ee

My research subject within the macroecology workgroup is Phylodiversity. I focus on phylogenetic diversity of natural plant communities and possible links to other community parameters such as species richness, productivity, functional diversity and invasiveness.
Together with my colleagues I analysed 26 Estonian plant communities across a wide range of environments and found that communities consisting of phylogenetically distinct species recruit from larger regional species pools than communities of closely related species (Gerhold et al. 2008). This means that there are more species available in a region (i.e. Estonia) that are suitable for growing in phylogenetically diverse communities than there are species for phylogenetically poor communities. This knowledge could help to us to develop measures for conservation and restoration ecology: phylogenetically rich communities could be more easily restored because suitable species are abundantly available in the region.
I collaborate with Prof. Andreas Prinzing, Rennes 1 University, France, and Dr. Francesco de Bello, University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic.
See my homepage, CV (in ETIS) and publications (in ETIS).

My homepage: http://www.botany.ut.ee/pille.gerhold/index.html

CV (in ETIS): https://www.etis.ee/portaal/isikuCV.aspx?LastNameFirstLetter=G&PersonVID=2064&FromUrl0=isikud.aspx&lang=en

Publications (in ETIS): https://www.etis.ee/portaal/isikuPublikatsioonid.aspx?LastNameFirstLetter=G&PersonVID=2064&FromUrl0=isikud.aspx&lang=en

Dr. Aveliina Helm
Researcher
aveliina.helm[at]ut.ee

My research interests cover the topic of Landscape History in the workgroup. In general, I study the plant species richness, species composition and species traits of recently fragmented (semi-natural) communities. I aim to reveal the effects of habitat loss, historical and current spatial configuration and human influence on different aspects of biodiversity. My special interest is the extinction debt phenomenon. Together with my students, I work towards identifying the species that are most threatened by the recent fragmentation and severe area loss.
My work is mostly conducted on species-rich calcareous grasslands called alvars, but I also carry out work in other types of semi-natural communities in Estonia and elsewhere in Europe.

I am the principal investigator in the grant project financed by Estonian Science Foundation (Loss of biodiversity in fragmented plant communities, duration 2008-2011) and I participate in FP6 an FP7 projects COCONUT and STEP.

See my CV and publication list in Estonian Research Portal.

Dr. Jesse Kalwij
Senior researcher
I am originally from the Netherlands but obtained my PhD in Switzerland on the spatiotemporal dynamics of pasture woodlands in the Jura Mountains. Just recently I joined our Institute as a Senior Researcher after spending five years as a postdoctoral fellow in Stellenbosch, South Africa. I investigate relationships between plants or plant communities and biotic or abiotic landscape patterns. For example I recently published an article on the effect of artificial watering points on landscape patterns in an African savanna. I have also developed a keen interest in the spatiotemporal distribution of exotic plants along altitudinal gradients. I call myself a broad plant ecologist with specific scientific interests varying from macroecology, landscape ecology and plant ecology to the application of statistics, GIS and remote sensing in ecology. Together with Prof Meelis Pärtel and Martin Zobel I will focus on global macroecological questions and collaborate in other projects within the FIBIR. You can read more about my research and interests on my extended academic webpage.

Dr Jodi Price
Researcher
Jodi.Price[at]ut.ee
My research interests are in the area of Global Ecology. I am broadly interested in plant community ecology of herbaceous ecosystems. To date my research has focused on community structure, species coexistence and richness, disturbance and land-use history, and invasion biology. My current research is focussed on community assembly of species-rich grassy ecosystems. The aim of my research is to examine if deterministic assembly rules can be found for ecologically similar but evolutionary different species-rich grassland communities in Europe, Australia and South America. I am examining community assembly processes at three different levels â species, phylogeny and functional groups. If I do find evidence for assembly rules at this scale this would provide strong evidence that niche-based explanations are applicable to these ecosystems.

M.Sc. Inga Hiiesalu
Doctoral student
inga.hiiesalu[at]ut.ee
My research topic is root diversity. I am interested in plant diversity patters below-ground and how they might differ from well-studied patterns above-ground. I am also finding it a challenge to develop the methodology for identifying plant species from roots. I combine conventional fieldwork methods in plant ecology with the new generation pyrosequencing techniques. My Doctoral thesis is supervised by Meelis Pärtel and Scott Wilson from Canada.

M.Sc. Liina Saar
Doctoral student
liina.saar[at]ut.ee

My study area is Landscape History. My main interests are related to the effects of human-induced habitat fragmentation and resultant changes in biodiversity. I concentrate on loss of biodiversity in semi-natural plant communities in Estonia. My aims are to identify the traits and abundances of species that might be most endangered and to explore how different diversity indices are associated with loss of habitats and fragmentation.
I participate in grant projects Loss of biodiversity in fragmented plant communities and Aspects of biodiversity in plants: links to large- and small-scale processes. See my CV in Estonian Research Portal. My supervisors are Professor Meelis Pärtel and Researcher Aveliina Helm.

M.Sc. Krista Takkis
Doctoral student
krista.takkis[at]ut.ee

My study concentrates on the changes in plant traits in the context of Landscape History. I aim to determine how landscape changes during the past century have affected the genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of different meadow species. In particular, I study the effect of habitat fragmentation on plant traits. My study concentrates on Estonian semi-natural alvar grasslands and my supervisors are Professor Meelis Pärtel and Researcher Aveliina Helm.

Riin Tamme
Masterâs student
riin.tamme[at]ut.ee

My research topic in the macroecology workgroup is Spatial Heterogeneity. I study the influence of environmental small-scale spatial heterogeneity on plant species diversity. The supervisor of my masterâs thesis is Professor Meelis Pärtel.

Ave Uustal
Masterâs student
aveuu[at]ut.ee
My master thesis focuses on the diversity of calciphilous plant species in old limestone quarries. By using quarry vegetation as a model system, I will identify the migration paths and potential refugiums for species originally native to semi-natural grasslands. My supervisor is Researcher Aveliina Helm.

Egle Järlov
Masterâs student
egle7[at]ut.ee
The theme of my research in the macroecology workgroup is Phylodiversity. I study the formation of different phylogenetic structures in natural plant communities on Canary Islands. My supervisor is Researcher Pille Gerhold.

Triin Sakermaa
Masterâs student
sakermaa[at]ut.ee
I am a first year masterâs student in the macroecology workgroup. For my masterâs thesis I study Phylodiversity under the supervision of Researcher Pille Gerhold.

Kaia Aher
Masterâs student
akaia[at]ut.ee
For my masterâs thesis I study Phylodiversity of grasslands and its relationship with colonisation and extinction processes. My supervisor is Researcher Pille Gerhold.

Liis Kasari
Masterâs student
lkasari[at]ut.ee
In my master thesis, I study the importance of distribution, shape, allocation and age structure of juniper (Juniperus communis) scrubs on alvar grasslands. I investigate how to achieve maximal species richness in protected alvar grasslands while ensuring the persistence of viable juniper populations. My supervisor is Researcher Aveliina Helm.