Stella’s research interests include forest community ecology, tree stress, and the close interactions of people and ecosystems. In the Battles lab, Stella is studying the effects of drought and air pollution (ozone) on Sierra Nevada forests. Her project examines the impacts of these forest stressors on Jeffrey and ponderosa pines (Pinus jeffreyi and P. ponderosa). Her research encompasses how drought and ozone interact, how they affect tree growth, and how these effects vary across the landscape. To study these questions, she is using dendrochronology, foliar injury, and a very tall pole pruner, and is currently collaborating with researchers in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and Sierra and Sequoia National Forests. In the past, Stella has worked on ecosystem health monitoring in fragmented New England forests and in resource management planning for protected areas of many kinds.