Why are Estonian mushroom scientists among the best in the world?

Estonia became the world’s centre of mycology against all odds. Tartu hosts some of the brightest minds in modern mycology, a scientific study of fungi. Fungi refers to organisms like molds, rusts, mildews, smuts, mushrooms, and yeasts.

Nine Estonian scientists were listed among the top 1% of most cited scientists in the world by Clarivate Analytics at the end of 2019. Other Baltic and Polish scientists combined are not as visible as Estonians.

Even more surprisingly, seven out of nine of those outstanding Estonian researchers – in one way or another – work in the field of mycology.

“You could say we are one of the centres of the world when it comes to mycology,” said Urmas Kõljalg, one of the most influential researchers listed.

Read further from Research in Estonia webpage.