Lucash Lab

Our REsearch

Our Earth faces immense challenges ahead.  As temperatures rise, disturbance regimes are altered, and extreme events increase in frequency, we cannot sit back and watch it happen.  We must find solutions together, working in interdisciplinary teams to tackle these wicked problems. In our lab, we use a variety of tools (e.g. big data, spatially-explicit simulation modeling, field studies) to quantify vegetation, disturbances, and above- and belowground carbon and nitrogen cycling at large spatial scales. Our research is often translational using visualization as the bridge between researchers and managers, because we deem it important to conduct applied research that is useful for managers. We thrive on collaboration, especially interdisciplinary collaboration across fields like computer science, immersive technology, philosophy, and anthropology. Overall, our research is guided by the belief that only through a better understanding of the interactions between biological, chemical, geologic, and physical processes using multiple research methods will we truly determine the best ways for terrestrial ecosystems to adapt in the face of disturbances and climate change and mitigate changes in our climate.

Our work focuses on questions like:

1) How and when do terrestrial ecosystems shift from becoming a sink to a source of carbon? What strategies can be used to prevent this shift?

2) Will ecosystems be able to keep pace with climate change or will biomes shift? Which tree species will be “winners” and “losers” under different scenarios of climate change?

3) Which management strategies are most effective for promoting resilience after wildfires?  Do these strategies remain effective under climate change?

In effect, our research tries to find better ways to manage our forests and shrublands under our changing climate.  Our research uses large spatial datasets, like the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) database developed by USDA Forest Service, to determine how disturbances like wildfire shape current forest conditions. Many of our research projects involve the use of spatial modeling since Dr. Lucash is one of the lead developers of LANDIS-II and the president of the LANDIS-II Foundation. The LANDIS-II forest landscape model is the most widely-used forest landscape model in the U.S. with over 1500 registered users. LANDIS-II simulates forest succession and disturbances (e.g., fire, wind, insects) at decadal to multi-century time scales and spatial scales spanning from hundreds to millions of hectares.

Our research takes place in many different ecosystems, including the coastal forests of OR, boreal forests of Alaska, boreal forests and alpine areas of Siberia, temperate rainforests of southeast Alaska, boreal and mixed hardwoods of MN and WI, sagebrush steppe of eastern Oregon, mixed coniferous forests in the Klamath Mountains of OR and CA, longleaf pine forests of NC, northern hardwoods of MA and NH, and the deciduous forests of UK.