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