Jaak-Albert Metsoja

PhD student
Albert [at] ut.ee

My research objects are the drivers of plant diversity on floodplain meadows. In my PhD thesis I focus on the influence of meadow management and abiotic conditions such as hydrology, soil conditions and landscape connectivity. I also analyze the role of soil seedbank and of the DNA of vascular plants and mycorrhizal fungi, extracted from different layers of floodplain sediments to elucidate the vegetation history and symbiotic interactions. My doctoral thesis is supervised by Martin Zobel and Kai Vellak.

Selected papers:

• Metsoja, JA., Neuenkamp, L., Pihu, S., Vellak, K., Kalwij, JM., Zobel, M. 2012. Restoration of flooded meadows in Estonia - vegetation changes and management indicators. Applied Vegetation Science 15: 231-244.
• Neuenkamp, L., Metsoja, JA., Zobel, M., Hoelzel, N. 2013. Impact of management on biodieversity-productivity relations in Estonian flooded meadows. Plant Ecology 214: 245-256.
• Metsoja, JA., Neuenkamp, L., Zobel, M. 2014. Seed bank and its restoration potential in Estonian flooded meadows. Applied Vegetation Science 17: 262-273.