Laia Andreu Hayles

Laia Andreu Hayles holds a PhD in Biology from the University of Barcelona (2007). In 2009 she began her research at the Tree-Ring Lab of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) at Columbia University (New York, USA), where she has held an appointment as Associate Research Professor since July 2020. In January 2022 she started a full time position as an ICREA research position at CREAF.

Her work focuses on the study of forest-environment interactions and the reconstruction of past climatic conditions from tree rings and isotopic geochemistry. Rising temperatures associated with global climate change are having a dramatic and profound impact on forests, and his research focuses on assessing these changes in several key regions of the planet. He is currently conducting research in boreal, tropical, Central Asian and Mediterranean regions, which are hotspots of current climate and environmental change.

Research interests

The impact of human activities on the environment and the climate system is indisputable. A knowledge-based understanding of such global environmental changes is paramount, and my research centers on assessing these changes across several regions of the planet. Specifically, I use tree rings and isotopic geochemistry to: (1) estimate climate conditions prior to the existence of instrumental records (i.e. paleoclimate) and (2) assess the response of forests to natural and anthropogenic changes in the climate and to increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). My multidisciplinary research embraces atmospheric sciences and ecology, and has provided insights on past interactions between the climate and land ecosystems. I am currently conducting research in boreal, tropical, Central Asia and Mediterranean regions, which are ‘hot spots’ of current climate and environmental changes.

Keywords

Environmental Sciences, Paleoclimate, Ecology, Dendrochronology, Geochemistry, Physiology.