Dr Harriet D Allen MA MSc PhD

University Associate Professor and Fellow of Girton College

Physical geographer with a special interest in biogeography, Quaternary and environmental change

Biography

Career

• 2002-present Fellow, Tutor & Director of Studies, Girton College, Cambridge
• 2001-present Department of Geography, University of Cambridge
• 1986-2001 Senior Lecturer in Geography, Homerton College, Cambridge

Qualifications

• MA Geography, University of Cambridge (Girton College)
• MSc Geography, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada: A dendrochronological record from the Slims Valley, Yukon, Canada
• PhD University of Cambridge: Late Quaternary of the Kopais Basin, Greece: sedimentary & environmental history

Research

Harriet Allen is a member of the Geography Department’s Environmental Systems and Processes research group.

Harriet is a physical geographer with a range of research interests which focus on

• Modelling the vegetation structure of Mediterranean ecosystems
• The response of ecosystems to environmental change
• Palaeoecological evidence for Holocene and contemporary environmental change

These areas of interest are firmly located within Mediterranean environments.

Current projects include:

• Restoration of Mediterranean mosaic landscapes – the contribution of remote sensing
• Mediterrranean wood pastures for biodiversity – making the lynx
• Modelling the landscape ecology of Mediterranean shrubland ecosystems.
• Use of airborne LiDAR to characterise vegetation communities.
• Use of multisensor ariborne data to model Mediterranean sclerophyllous vegetation communities (Crete and Portugal).
• Holocene and contemporary vegetation dynamics of Mediterranean ecosystems.

Current PhD students

Recent PhD students

• Amy McGuire (2020) ‘The Quaternary of the eastern Mediterranean: Insights into changes in climate and environment and their impact on human populations’ Co: supervisor: Christine Lane
• William Fletcher (2005) ‘Holocene Landscape History of Southern Portugal’
• William Simonson (2012) ‘Vegetation structure and composition of Mediterranean oak forests: an investigation with airborne lidar’ (co-supervised with Dr DA Coomes, Dept of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge)

Publications

[Publications load automatically from the University’s publications database, Symplectic…]

Teaching

Contributions as follows:

Geographical Tripos

• Director of Undergraduate Teaching (2014-2017; 2018-2022)
• Part IA: Physical Geography: Environmental Processes and Change
• Part IB: Bioogeography; Remote Sensing
• Part IB: Fieldtrips to the Algarve, Arolla (Switzerland), Tenerife, Cornwall
• Parts IA, IB and II: skills and methods teaching including fieldwork
• Part II: Biogeography; Life within Limits

External activities

University activities

• Chair: Equality and Diversity Forum, School of Physical Sciences

External activities

• External examining
• Coordinating Editor, Landscape Ecology (Springer) (2011-2019)
• Committee member (Chair), Biogeography Research Group of the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) (to 2018)
• Fellow, Royal Geographical Society, with the Institute of British Geographers
• Committee member, Geographical Association (Cambridge Branch)
• Member, Quaternary Research Association
• Member, International Biogeography Society
• Member, British Ecological Society