Ülo Niinemets

Ülo Niinemets (born 19 March 1970) is an Estonian plant physiologist and ecophysiologist. He is a professor of plant physiology at the Estonian University of Life Sciences and has been a member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences since 2013.

Niinemets has received multiple state research awards in Estonia (2000, 2006, 2018), and has led internationally visible work on how plant stress emissions interact with atmospheric chemistry and climate modelling, profiled by the European Research Council and international science media.

Early life and education Niinemets was born in Tartu on 19 March 1970.

Career Niinemets has been a professor at the Estonian University of Life Sciences since 2009.

Research Niinemets’ research concerns how plants respond to environmental and biological stressors, including how physiological and structural traits shape photosynthesis, productivity, and plant–atmosphere trace-gas exchange.

The European Research Council has profiled Niinemets as an ERC grantee, describing his work as motivating changes in how plant stress emissions are treated in global modelling and as contributing to research on crop resilience.

Recognition and honours Niinemets has received Estonia’s state research awards multiple times, including: 2000 (shared) – research cycle on photosynthesis acclimation in canopies

Niinemets has been listed as a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher; the Estonian University of Life Sciences reported his inclusion in the 2025 list in the Plant and Animal Science category. The University of Tartu has also noted his appearance on the Highly Cited Researchers list in coverage of Estonian researchers’ international influence.

In Estonian cultural weekly Sirp, he has been mentioned in connection with national science award nominations and coverage.

Selected service Member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences (elected 2013) Editor-in-Chief, Oecologia (Springer Nature)