Mathilda Digby
PhD
Bio
Hey! I’m Mathilda. I am returning to Selva lab for my PhD, working alongside the FORTRESS network team. I will be using the plot network and Terrestrial Laser Scanning to characterise forest demographic responses to climate extremes. I am specifically looking at structural variation and the impact this has on below canopy microclimates across European forests. I look forward to working with the project partners at Fondazione Edmund Mach, learning how to apply these findings to satellite data.
I first joined the Selva lab team back in 2022 for my Master by Reseach where I used the global data set of Aerial Laser Scanned forests to identify the environmental conditions that influenced the architectural characteristics of 30,000 canopy dominant trees. This dataset also enabled us to assess the relationship between ground surveyed tree allometry and airborne remote sensing techniques. Since then, I have been working for Kew Gardens on the Nature Unlocked program, using TLS to measure carbon storage of trees and how this varies from current allometric models between forest types.
Outside of work I enjoy being out in nature whether it’s cold-water swimming or tracking down pockets of temperate rainforests. More recently I’ve discovered a love for Badminton! My goal these coming years is to take up some crafts! Hopefully ceramics :)