People

Lara is currently completing an undergraduate biology thesis on the impacts of forest harvests on the rooting architecture and morphology of dominant trees and soil microbial communities. Lara is interested in forests, botany, and microbial ecology. She is also excited to learn more about ecosystem restoration, disturbance response, and agroecology.

Aliya is an environmental studies major. She is interested in soil ecology and carbon sequestration. Through her work in the Tumber-Dávila lab, she wants to learn more about the relationship between soil dynamics, root systems, and the broader impacts of climate change on forests globally. In the lab, Aliya processes soil samples and identifies roots from the Harvard Forest CLIFF site. Her work supports research on belowground dynamics and forest fragmentation.

Claire is a biology major with a concentration in ecology and a minor in Spanish. She is interested in forest ecology, climate resilience, and climate adaptation. In the lab, she previously studied the impact of increased hurricane intensity on above ground forest carbon storage. Claire is currently working on a project analyzing data from the Wurzelatlas collection, improving our understanding of aboveground/belowground tree allometric relationships. In her free time she enjoys hiking and ski touring.

Lucy is an environmental studies and music double major. She is interested in soil, forest ecology, and environmental policy. Lucy’s work investigate the effects of forest fragmentation on below ground root dynamics. She hopes to understand that impacts of forest disturbances and the wider implications of land use change on ecosystems as a whole.