Dr. Christine R. Rollinson (Christy)

C.V.; Google Scholar

My passion for trees, forests, and conservation stems from growing up in the central Appalachian Mountains. Although the Appalachians will always be home, I have worked in a variety of forests and grasslands throughout the United States including the Midwest, the Great Smoky Mountains, New England, and the Rockies. Working in different ecosystems and with the people that live there has given me a deep appreciation for the relationship between humans and nature.

My research uses a variety of field- and model-based approaches to understand how forests change through time and how interactions among trees and their environments determine tree distributions. Much of my current work uses tree rings to study tree responses to past events, citizen science phenology monitoring to investigate tree responses to weather, and computer simulation modeling to look at large-scale or future forest dynamics.

Ensuring long-term forest health through effective conservation and management motivates much of my work. I believe consideration and balancing of multiple priorities from all stakeholders are needed. As such, I regularly interact and collaborate with a variety of groups such as land managers as part of the Chicago Wilderness Oak Ecosystems Recovery working group and the many groups that come to The Morton Arboretum.