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Alma Piermattei

Technical Laboratory Research Assistant, working with Prof Ulf Büntgen and Prof Christine S. Lane

I am fascinated by understanding past environmental and climate changes using proxy records such as tree rings, and tephra and cryptotephra layers. In particular, I explore environmental, climatic and genetic effects on tree growth and their wood anatomical features, and I contribute to tephra research projects mainly in eastern Africa.

Biography

Career

  • 05.2017-present: Technical Laboratory Research Assistant, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, UK
  • 01.2016-12.2016: Post-doc, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland. Project: Tree-ring variability, wood anatomy and genetic diversity of marginal Picea abies population in the Apennines (Italy).
  • 05.2015-12.2015: Post-doc, Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences (D3A), Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy. Project: Anatomical and dendroclimatic analysis of tree species growing on Apennine treeline
  • 01/02.2015-04/05.2015: Visiting researcher, Department of Ciências da Vida, University of Coimbra, Portugal. Project: Analysis of Intra-annual Density Fluctuations on wood cores of Pinus nigra
  • 01.2012-12.2014: PhD student, Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences (D3A), Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy. Curriculum in Forest Ecology and Forest Management
  • 10.2013-06.2014: Visiting student at the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research (LTRR), University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

Qualifications

  • 03.2015: PhD thesis, Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences (D3A), Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy: European black pine recolonization at high altitude in the central Apennines (Italy). Spatial and Temporal patterns. Supervisor: Prof. C. Urbinati.
  • 02.2010: Master degree in Agricultural Science and Technology, Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences (D3A), Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy. Master thesis: Expansion and growth dynamic of Pinus nigra Arn. above the timberline at Mt. Vettore (AP). Grade: summa cum laude, supervisor: Prof. C. Urbinati.
  • 10.2007: Bachelor degree in Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences (D3A), Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy. Bachelor thesis: La matricinatura a gruppi: un “vecchio” metodo per una “nuova” selvicoltura dei boschi cedui appenninici. Grade: summa cum laude, supervisors: Prof. C. Urbinati, Dr. G. Iorio.

Awards

  • 2015: SISEF for best oral presentation at the X National Conference SISEF. Firenze, Italy
  • 2012: Federazione Italiana Donne Arti Professioni Affari F.I.D.A.P.A. – Sezione “Ancona Riviera del Conero” for Master thesis

Research

Research Convenor – Hughes Hall Cambridge (2021-2022)

Research Associate – Hughes Hall Cambridge (2019-2022)

Member of the Climate and Environmental Dynamics group

  • Forest ecology: disentangling the effect of environmental and genetics factors at marginal populations, using tree-ring width and wood anatomical features
  • Population ecology: assessing growth-climate relationships and genetics structure at different spatial scale: individual, stand and population levels
  • Treeline ecosystem: disentangling climate and anthropogenic drivers in Pyrenees and Apennines (Italy) areas
  • Vegetation dynamics: intra- and interannual growth responses
  • Wood anatomy: effect of climate on cells structure and cell lignification processes of conifers at treeline ecotones
  • Paleoecology and paleoclimatology: long-term reconstructions using different proxies at different spatial and temporal scales

Publications

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

Teaching

  • Demonstrator, Part IB, Quantitative Data Analysis Skills (2021)
  • Supervisor, Part IA, Environmental Change during the Quaternary (2021)
  • Contributed to Teaching, MPhil Holocene Climates (2020-2021)
  • Supervisor MPhil thesis in Dendrochronology (2020-2021)
  • Demonstrator, Part IB, Fieldtrips (2019)
  • Demonstrator, Part IA, Geographical Skills and Methods: Statistical Methods (2018-2019)
  • Lab supervisor of undergraduates thesis in Dendrochronology and Tephrochronology – Department of Geography, University of Cambridge (2018 to present)
  • Supervisor bachelor and master thesis, Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences (D3A), Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy, and Department of TESAF, University of Padova, Italy

External activities

  • Member of ATR – Association for Tree-ring Research
  • 2019-present (year base) European Dendroecological FieldWeek. Organizers: Dr Treydte K, Dr Crivellaro A, Dr Kaczka R, Dr Piermattei A.
  • Peer Review Summary (https://publons.com/a/1372889):
    Forests (8), Dendrochronologia (4), Forest Ecology and Management (1),
    Plant Ecology (formerly Vegetation) (1), Environment, Development and Sustainability (1), Journal of Mountain Science (1), Sustainability (1), Trees (1)
  • Participating at numerous fieldwork and summer schools on dendrochronology, wood anatomy, and data acquisition and data analysis