About me

I am a trained Forester and a Forest Scientist in training who discovered the existence of dynamic forest models, found them fascinating and decided to start crunching some programming languages. So far, I had the possibility to explore two sides of the spectrum: a very process-based mechanistic model, the 3D-CMCC-FEM and the stand-scale forest gap model ForClim. My primary research interest lies in understanding the processes that lead to forest responses to extreme events, such as droughts. Rather than adhering to a single modeling theory, I am interested in the diverse mechanisms that influence these outcomes. Models are in this sense powerful allies, but not a dogma, neither the absolute truth. I believe that models offer a glimpse into potential future scenarios, helping us understand what forest ecosystems might experience under “what if” scenarios. As tools, they are indeed powerful, yet we as scientists and practitioners must be careful in using them and interpret their outcomes with caution. Another area of interest for me is how silvicultural practices can shape forests to meet various objectives and enhance their functionality. Once my silviculture professor, Dr. Mario Pividori, gave a definition of silviculture that stayed with me ever since “Rather than the craft of chopping trees, Silviculture is the art of allowing the forest to properly grow”. This is how I picture forest management each time I step into a forest stand, asking the fundamental questions: “who are you”, “what were you”, “where are you going”? I particularly enjoy discussing problems and solutions with forest practitioners because they are the eyes and hands tasked with the great challenge to shape today’s forest for the future to come. Despite such an ambitious (and often dangerous) job, foresters have often very limited tools to aid them when it comes to complex and conflicting decisions, especially climate change and future trajectories of forest dynamics. It is in this context, I believe, that we as forest scientists can play a role in aiding and providing tools and insights on the potential future scenarios that the forest ecosystems might experience.

Since 2021 I am persuing a PhD in Forest Ecology at ETH Zurich (FE) in the group of Stand and Landscape Dynamics under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Harald Bugmann

In my leisure time, I enjoy crafting wooden objects and embarking in long discussions in forest stands with my husband who is the real Forester among us two :-)