Lucien works closely with the Arboretum’s Forest Ecologist Christy Rollinson, supporting her research on how climate change and different management strategies influence the spatial and temporal distributions of plant communities in forest ecosystems.

Lucien is interested in understanding the influence that climate change has on forest ecosystems, especially in urban settings. As the expansion of urban landscapes continues at a rapid pace and more forested land becomes managed within urban spaces it becomes imperative to understand the best practices for planting, maintaining, and fostering health.

Due to trees’ long generation time, developing predictive models and looking at historical data such as tree rings are especially useful in informing decisions. Lucien’s primary work involves using citizen science data to predictively model the timing of phenological events to see how climate change influences these critical timings. His current research goal is to increase the knowledge and predictive capabilities of people planting and managing urban forest ecosystems.