22.12.2025
sustainability research
Further information
Kalmer Lauk
Grant Office
Statistics and Analysis
Analyst of Research and Development
statistics and analysis of research and development activities, confirming ETIS publications and coordination of funding for research collections, research funding database Pivot-RP
+372 737 6532
Ülikooli 18a-112

Study on the impact of human activity on biodiversity received the most public attention this past year among University of Tartu research

Inimmõju ulatus ja uuringualad
Inimmõju ulatus ja uuringualad
Author: Meelis Pärtel

Every year, researchers at the University of Tartu contribute to a couple of thousand high-level scientific publications. According to Altmetrics, a tool for evaluating the societal impact of research articles, the study that drew the most attention in public digital channels in 2025 was led by Professor of Botany Meelis Pärtel and confirms the negative effect of human activity on wildlife biodiversity, even hundreds of kilometres away from human settlements.

Kalmer Lauk, Analyst of Research and Development at the University of Tartu Grant Office, explained that altmetrics is a method for evaluating the impact of scientific publications, showing how the research influences the wider public and what kind of response it receives in digital channels outside the academic community. “Altmetric data enable to measure the societal and online influence of research based on how much the article has been shared on social media, blogs, news outlets, and other online sources,” said Lauk.

Faculty of Science and Technology: dark diversity

Tume elurikkus
Author: Mirjam Savioja

The most-referenced article this year – 618 times in the public sphere – was a study from the Faculty of Science and Technology, “Global impoverishment of natural vegetation revealed by dark diversity”, published in April in Nature. It is a comprehensive international study in which a research network led by the University of Tartu assessed ecosystem health worldwide, taking into account the number of plant species found and the potential yet missing species, i.e. dark diversity. The findings indicated that biodiversity can also be reduced in ecosystems that have not been directly modified by humans but are located in areas where human activities have caused habitat fragmentation or have had a dispersed impact on natural areas, for example, through pollution.

The study was covered by 60 media outlets, sparked lively debate on the social media platforms Bluesky and X, and was also cited on Wikipedia.

The article has over 200 authors, with Professor Meelis Pärtel of the University of Tartu as the first author. Read a summary of the article.

Faculty of Medicine: COVID-19 research

Vaktsineerimine
Author: /Pexels

From the Faculty of Medicine, the article published in Scientific Reports, “Dynamic effects of COVID-19 vaccination on major acute cardiovascular events and mortality following SARS-CoV-2 infection in a target trial emulation study”, drew the most public attention, prompting lively debate primarily on the social media platforms X and Bluesky.

The study analysed more than 30,000 people aged at least 40 who had contracted COVID-19 and found that those vaccinated against COVID-19 had a 30% lower risk of serious cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke) in the first year after infection compared with unvaccinated individuals. The results showed that, following COVID-19, vaccination provides significant protection against cardiovascular complications for men aged 40–70 and for women aged 40–70 and older, in the case of severe as well as mild and moderate COVID-19. No protective effect against acute cardiovascular diseases was observed in men over 70. However, the vaccine had a protective effect against death due to COVID-19 among both men and women aged 40–70 and older.

The authors of the article are Tatjana Meister, Ülo Maiväli, Kaur Tenson, Anna Tisler, Ruth Kalda, Kadri Suija and Anneli Uusküla.

Faculty of Arts and Humanities: book archaeology

Türi koodeks
Author: Kadri Paloveer

In the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, the most cited article is “New evidence of reuse of an oak panel in Estonia: Covers of the fifteenth-century Codex of Türi”. The study revealed that the wooden covers of the Türi Codex, Estonia’s oldest dated manuscript, which was completed in 1454, originated from different periods and regions, with one cover made from previously used wood. It emerged that, for practical reasons, new material was not always used even for valuable manuscripts. The article attracted attention in international media outlets and on social media.

The authors of the article are Alar Läänelaid, Kristina Sohar, Aoife Daly, Alicia Van HamMeert, Päärn Paiste, Kaspar Kolk, Kadri Paloveer and Raivo Suni.

Faculty of Social Sciences: personality psychology

Isiksusepsühholoogia
Author: firefly.adobe.com

The article “Personality profiles of 263 occupations”, which was completed in 2024 but officially published in April 2025 in the Journal of Applied Psychology, received the most public attention in the Faculty of Social Sciences. The study analysed the personality profiles of 263 occupations and showed how different jobs relate to people’s personality traits. The authors of the article are Kätlin Anni, Uku Vainik and René Mõttus.

Personality psychology generally attracts wide public interest, as the next most popular articles by researchers of the Faculty of Social Sciences are also related to it. The second most popular study is “Assessing the Overlap of Personality Traits and Internalizing Psychopathology Using Multi-Informant Data: Two Sides of the Same Coin?”, which found that personality traits are more closely related to mental health problems than previously assumed. The results may help create prevention models to assess a person’s mental health risks and intervene more effectively.

The authors of the article are Helo Liis Soodla, Kelli Lehto, Kadri Kõiv, Uku Vainik, Kirsti Akkermann and René Mõttus. Read the summary (in Estonian).

The Grant Office publishes an overview of University of Tartu research that has received the most attention in public digital channels on the University of Tartu website’s Trending research page. The overview is updated monthly and features publications in which the lead authors are from the University of Tartu.