Maarja Öpik, Professor of Molecular Ecology and Director of the Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences of the University of Tartu, will take up the position of Editor-in-Chief of New Phytologist, a scientific journal of plant biology, for five years from January 2025.
New Phytologist is one of the most influential plant science journals. According to the Journal Citation Report, which assesses the impact of journals in the Web of Science database, New Phytologist ranks 11th out of 265 journals worldwide in the plant science category. New Phytologist is also among the top ten most cited journals in its field in the Scopus database.
Maarja Öpik has been a member of the Editorial Board of New Phytologist since 2013. Her research focuses on the relationships between plants and mycorrhizal fungi, with a particular emphasis on the biodiversity patterns of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. She has created one of the first public databases in this field, MaarjAM, which is now widely used for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi identification and ecological studies.
As editor-in-chief, professor Öpik will lead an outstanding international editorial team that will focus on all aspects of plant biology, covering five sections of the journal: plant physiology and development, plant interactions with other organisms, plants and the environment, plant evolution and transformative plant biotechnology.
According to Maarja Öpik, New Phytologist is a journal that inspires its readers and authors. “As editor-in-chief, I want to maintain, strengthen and develop this mindset. Publishing inspiring articles and maintaining an active and engaged community of plant scientists helps to strengthen both the journal and its community,” she said.
Professor Öpik is the journal’s first female editor-in-chief and the first from outside the United Kingdom. An international competition was held to elect a new editor-in-chief, with many excellent candidates. Öpik takes over from professor Alistair M. Hetherington.
Mari Moora, Vice Rector for Research at the University of Tartu, said that reaching this position is a great international recognition of Maarja Öpik’s scientific contribution, hard work and dedication. “Indirectly, this is also a tribute to the University of Tartu and Estonian science as a whole. I am very proud of Maarja and wish her success and perseverance in this demanding role,” said Moora.
The journal was founded in 1902 by British ecologist Arthur Tansley, who is best known for introducing the concept of ecosystems. The journal is also an important outlet for Estonian researchers to publish articles in the fields of ecophysiology, ecosystem ecology, plant roots and mycorrhizal research.