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Meelis Pärtel

Meelis Pärtel

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Ecology and Evolution
Estonia
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Ecology and Evolution

D-Index
77
Citations
24687
World Ranking
949
National Ranking
3

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Estonia Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Estonia Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Estonia Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Estonia Leader Award

Overview

Meelis Pärtel is affiliated with the University of Tartu in Estonia. Their research spans environmental science and agricultural and biological sciences, with a strong focus on nature and landscape conservation, ecology, evolution, behavior, systematics, and plant science.

The scientist has contributed significantly to several main topics of research, including ecology and vegetation dynamics studies, plant and animal studies, species distribution and climate change, forest ecology and biodiversity studies, mycorrhizal fungi and plant interactions, peatlands and wetlands ecology, and lichen and fungal ecology.

Meelis Pärtel's recent publications include:

  • Fine-root traits in the global spectrum of plant form and function, 2021, Nature
  • Synchrony matters more than species richness in plant community stability at a global scale, 2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • Temperature and pH define the realised niche space of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, 2021, New Phytologist
  • Erosion of global functional diversity across the tree of life, 2021, Science Advances
  • Structure and function of the soil microbiome underlying N2O emissions from global wetlands, 2022, Nature Communications

They have published several works in well-known venues, with frequent publications appearing in Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Journal of Vegetation Science, bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Global Ecology and Biogeography, and Nature Communications.

Collaboration is a notable aspect of their career, having worked repeatedly with coauthors such as Martin Zobel, Carlos P. Carmona, Aveliina Helm, Maarja Öpik, and Mari Moora.

In addition to articles, Meelis Pärtel has contributed to book publications, notably a handbook titled Handbook of sampling for multi-taxon biodiversity studies in European forests published by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in 2022.

Best Publications

  • TRY plant trait database : Enhanced coverage and open access

    Jens Kattge;Gerhard Bönisch;Sandra Díaz;Sandra Lavorel

  • Extinction debt: a challenge for biodiversity conservation.

    Mikko Kuussaari;Riccardo Bommarco;Risto K. Heikkinen;Aveliina Helm

  • Ecological assembly rules in plant communities--approaches, patterns and prospects.

    Lars Götzenberger;Francesco de Bello;Kari Anne Bråthen;John Davison

  • Plant species richness: the world records

    J. Bastow Wilson;Robert K. Peet;Jürgen Dengler;Meelis Pärtel

  • Habitat fragmentation causes immediate and time‐delayed biodiversity loss at different trophic levels

    Jochen Krauss;Riccardo Bommarco;Moisès Guardiola;Risto K. Heikkinen

  • Integrative modelling reveals mechanisms linking productivity and plant species richness

    James B. Grace;T. Michael Anderson;Eric W. Seabloom;Elizabeth T. Borer

  • Global assessment of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus diversity reveals very low endemism

    J. Davison;M. Moora;M. Öpik;A. Adholeya

  • Slow response of plant species richness to habitat loss and fragmentation

    Aveliina Helm;Ilkka Hanski;Meelis Pärtel

  • Global trait–environment relationships of plant communities

    Helge Bruelheide;Jürgen Dengler;Jürgen Dengler;Oliver Purschke;Jonathan Lenoir

  • The species pool and its relation to species richness : evidence from Estonian plant communities

    Meelis Partel;Martin Zobel;Kristjan Zobel;Eddy van der Maarel

  • LOCAL PLANT DIVERSITY PATTERNS AND EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY AT THE REGIONAL SCALE

    Meelis Pärtel

  • Indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem services: a synthesis across ecosystems and spatial scales

    Christian K. Feld;Pedro Martins da Silva;José Paulo Sousa;Francesco De Bello

  • Dark diversity: shedding light on absent species.

    Meelis Pärtel;Robert Szava-Kovats;Martin Zobel

  • Species richness of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: associations with grassland plant richness and biomass

    Inga Hiiesalu;Inga Hiiesalu;Meelis Pärtel;John Davison;Pille Gerhold

  • Fine-root traits in the global spectrum of plant form and function.

    Carlos P. Carmona;C. Guillermo Bueno;Aurele Toussaint;Sabrina Träger;Sabrina Träger

  • Biodiversity in temperate European grasslands: origin and conservation.

    Meelis Pärtel;Hans Henrik Bruun;Marek Sammul

  • Predicting species’ maximum dispersal distances from simple plant traits

    Riin Tamme;Lars Götzenberger;Lars Götzenberger;Martin Zobel;James M. Bullock

  • Environmental heterogeneity, species diversity and co-existence at different spatial scales

    Riin Tamme;Inga Hiiesalu;Lauri Laanisto;Robert Szava-Kovats

  • Agricultural policies exacerbate honeybee pollination service supply-demand mismatches across Europe.

    Tom D. Breeze;Bernard E. Vaissière;Riccardo Bommarco;Theodora Petanidou

  • Local loss and spatial homogenization of plant diversity reduce ecosystem multifunctionality

    Yann Hautier;Forest Isbell;Elizabeth T. Borer;Eric W. Seabloom

  • Functional species pool framework to test for biotic effects on community assembly

    Francesco de Bello;Jodi N. Price;Tamara Münkemüller;Jaan Liira

  • Integrative modelling reveals mechanisms linking productivity and plant species richness

    James B. Grace;T. Michael Andersen;Eric W. Seabloom;Elizabeth T. Borer

Frequent Co-Authors

Martin Zobel
Martin Zobel University of Tartu
Aveliina Helm
Aveliina Helm University of Tartu
Francesco de Bello
Francesco de Bello Spanish National Research Council
Milan Chytrý
Milan Chytrý Masaryk University
Alessandro Chiarucci
Alessandro Chiarucci University of Bologna
Valério D. Pillar
Valério D. Pillar Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul
Mari Moora
Mari Moora University of Tartu
Maarja Öpik
Maarja Öpik University of Tartu
Jan Lepš
Jan Lepš University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice
Carlos P. Carmona
Carlos P. Carmona University of Tartu

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Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

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