Aaron Lien

Dr. Aaron Lien is the Director of the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, and an Assistant Professor of Rangeland Ecology and Adaptive Management in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment (SNRE) at the University of Arizona. His work focuses on solving emerging challenges in Social Ecological Systems (SESs). He is an environmental social scientist with broad training in theories of human behavior and decision making (Cognitive Hierarchy Theory, Theory of Planned Behavior, Protection Motivation Theory, etc.) and frameworks for analyzing governance institutions (IAD Framework, SES Framework). He also has interdisciplinary training in climate science and rangeland ecology and management.

Dr. Lien uses this unique combination of skills to engage in transdisciplinary work with ecologists, climate scientists, and policy scientists to address pressing management and governance challenges including biological invasions, climate change-induced forest die-off, migratory species conservation, and adaptive management of rangelands. He leads the Social Ecological Systems Lab at the University of Arizona, and teaches at SNRE in the Ecology, Management, and Restoration of Rangelands program. He currently teaches two classes: Conservation of Natural Environments -- an introduction to natural resources management for SNRE majors -- and Rangeland Plant Communities of the Western United States, the core plant ecology and plant identification course. Dr. Lien joined the SW CASC team in July 2025.