Research
Research in the Department of Botany concerns the biodiversity of plants, algae and fungi, and their functioning throughout the molecular, individual, community, ecosystem and global scale. The department conducts both theoretical and applied research, the latter focusing largely on the protection of natural habitats and on the optimal management of communities and populations.
Workgroups in the Department of Botany are divided among the following four Chairs:
Chair of Botany
- Macroecology (Prof. Meelis Pärtel)
- Landscape Biodiversity (Senior Research Fellow Aveliina Helm and Senior Research Fellow Tsipe Aavik)
Chair of Plant Ecology
- Plant Ecology (Prof. Martin Zobel)
- Evolutionary Ecology (Prof. Kristjan Zobel)
- Conservation Biology (in collaboration with the Department of Zoology; Research Prof. Asko Lõhmus)
Chair of Mycology
- Lichenology (Assoc. Prof. Tiina Randlane)
- Taxonomy and Biodiversity Informatics (Prof. Urmas Kõljalg)
- Ecology of Biological Interactions (in collaboration with the Natural History Museum; Research Prof. Leho Tedersoo)
Chair of Ecophysiology
- Ecophysiology (Prof. Arne Sellin)
- Applied Ecology (Senior Research Fellow Arvo Tullus)