PhD Mari Moora
Head of the community ecology working group, Professor in Community Ecology
Mari.Moora [ at ] ut.ee
J. Liivi st. 2-612
My research addresses biotic interactions underlying the diversity and composition of plant communities. How does competition and facilitation between plants influence the structure of communities and how do these interactions interfere with forest and grassland management? How does the most widespread symbiosis between fungus and plant root – mycorrhiza – influence the outcome of plant interactions and hence, the structure of plant communities? How does the community composition of mycorrhizal fungal communities vary at local and global scale; and how this variation relates to the composition and diversity of plant communities? Also, I address the relationships between plants and mycorrhizal fungi in general – how the mycorrhizal traits of plant species are related to other plant traits; do different plant functional groups harbour different mycorrhizal fungal communities in their roots; what role plays mycorrhizal symbiosis in plant invasions and distribution globally?
My research is part of the Centre of Excellence Ecolchange. See my CV with full publication list in Estonian Research Portal.
I am supervising doctoral student Maret Gerz and co-supervising doctoral student Daniela Leon Velandia.
Selected papers:
- Neuenkamp, L.; Zobel, M.; Lind, E.; Gerz, M.t; Moora, M. 2019. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community composition determines the competitive response of two grassland forbs. PLOS ONE, 14 (7), ARTN e0219527.10.1371/journal.pone.0219527
- Bueno, C.G.; Gerz, M.; Zobel, M.; Moora, M. 2019. Conceptual differences lead to divergent trait estimates in empirical and taxonomic approaches to plant mycorrhizal trait assignment. Mycorrhiza, 29, 1−11.
- Gerz, M.; Bueno, C. G.; Ozinga, W. A.; Zobel, M. & Moora, M. 2019. Responses of plant community mycorrhization to anthropogenic influence depend on the habitat and mycorrhizal type. Oikos 128, 1565-1575
- Zobel, M.; Davison, J.; Edwards, M. E.; Brochmann, C.; Coissac, E.; Taberlet, P.; Willerslev, E. & Moora, M. 2018. Ancient environmental DNA reveals shifts in dominant mutualisms during the late Quaternary. Nature Communications 9:139.
- Gerz, M.; Bueno, C. G.; Ozinga, W. A.; Zobel, M. & Moora, M. 2018. Niche differentiation and expansion of plant species are associated with mycorrhizal symbiosis. Journal of Ecology 106: 254-264.
- Bueno, C. G.; Moora, M.; Gerz, M.; Davison, J.; Öpik, M.; Pärtel, M.; Helm, A.; Ronk, A.; Kühn, I. & Zobel, M. 2017. Plant mycorrhizal status, but not type, shifts with latitude and elevation in Europe. Global Ecology and Biogeography 26: 690–699.
- Davison, J., Moora, M., Öpik, M., Adholeya, A., Ainsaar, L., Bâ, A., Burla, S., Diedhiou, A.G., Hiiesalu, I., Jairus, T., Johnson, N.C., Kane,A., Koorem, K., Kochar, M., Ndiaye, C., Pärtel, M., Reier, Ü., Saks, Ü., Singh, R., Vasar, M., Zobel M. Global assessment of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus diversity reveals very low endemism. Science 2015. 349: 970-973.
- Moora, M. 2014. Mycorrhizal traits and plant communities: perspectives for integration. Journal of Vegetation Science 25:1126−1132.
