Research

Page last updated July 15th, 2008

Ongoing research in our lab includes the following general areas:

Fire, vegetation and ecosystem processes in Yellowstone National Park
Bark beetles, fire and salvage logging in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Landscape dynamics and ecological change in the Southern Appalachians
Land-water interactions in north temperate landscapes
Tools and resources for landscape ecology

Completed projects include:

Landscape ecology of ungulate populations
Ecology of the Wisconsin River-floodplain landscape
Invasive plants in North America and East Asia
Biocomplexity: riparian land, people and lakes

Fire, vegetation and ecosystem processes in Yellowstone National Park

The size and severity of the fires that burned through Yellowstone National Park (YNP) and surrounding lands (see map) during the summer of 1988 surprised scientists, park managers and the general public. The 1988 fires were a large, infrequent but natural disturbance that created a complex landscape mosaic. Since the fires, Turner and colleagues, especially Dr. William H. Romme (Colorado State University) and Dr. Daniel B. Tinker (University of Wyoming) have been studying the effects of fire size and pattern on postfire vegetation and ecosystem processes. Natural disturbances are key sources of heterogeneity in many ecosystems, yet the causes and consequences of disturbances that are large, severe and infrequent are not well understood.

Read more about our research results....

Learn more about our current Yellowstone projects...

Read a synopsis of this research entitled "Rising from the Ashes" that was published in ON WISCONSIN in June, 2008.

View Turner's March 2006 Capitol Hill briefing on forest fire regimes and recovery from natural wildfires....

Bark beetles, fire and salvage logging in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Along with fire, bark beetle infestations are key natural disturbances in the Yellowstone region. Several species of native bark beetle (Curculionidae: Scolytinae), e.g., mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) and Douglas-fir beetle (Dendroctonus pseudotsugae), are currently in outbreak phase and affecting extensive areas within Greater Yellowstone. Throughout the West, the severity of epidemics has increased in recent years, and insects have expanded their ranges to new geographic areas and previously unaffected plant communities. Beginning in 2006, we have been studying the recent bark-beetle outbreak that is affecting portions of Yellowstone National Park and surrounding national forests.

Landscape Dynamics and Ecological Change in the Southern Appalachians

As part of the Coweeta Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) site since 1994, we have studied landscape and ecological changes in the mountains of western North Carolina working in close collaboration with Dr. Scott Pearson (Mars Hill College). We have focused especially on understanding the influence of land-use history, contemporary landscape patterns and the abiotic template on forest herbs, soils and invasive understory plants in the Southern Appalachian Region. There is a spatial gradient of land-use intensity within the region, with wide, flat river valleys receiving more intense use than the steep slopes. There are also temporal dynamics associated with the exurban development that currently characterizes the region, and forest cover has increased over the past 75 years as both population and housing density have also both increased. Read more about our research findings and current directions….

Land-Water Interactions in North Temperate Landscapes

The interfaces between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems (i.e., riparian zones) are key functional linkages in most temperate landscapes. Research in our lab has addressed a variety of land-water linkages, including large river-floodplain systems along the Wisconsin River; the Northern Highlands Lake District centered on Vilas County, Wisconsin; and lakes of the Madison area. We collaborate closely in these studies with researchers at the UW-Madison Center for Limnology, with our contribution typically focused on landscape patterns and processes (e.g., land-use change) or the drier side of the land-water interaction (e.g., riparian forests). Research falls under the auspices of the North Temperate Lakes Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) site; a Biocomplexity grant focusing on interactions among people and lakes; a spatially explicit regional modeling study of hydrologic and biogeochemical fluxes in a land-water mosaic; a study of critical thresholds related to eutrophication; and understanding the roles of flood regime and land-use change along the Wisconsin River.

Tools and Resources for Landscape Ecology

We have produced several general resources for landscape ecology, including a text book, an edited volume of exercises designed to provide “hands-on” opportunities for learning the basic quantitative tools used in landscape ecology, and an interactive data base for extracting measures of landscape pattern from throughout the US. In addition, a forthcoming volume co-edited by John Wiens, Michael Moss, Monica Turner and David Mladenoff, will provide an entrée into the publications that provided the foundation for the development of contemporary landscape ecology.

Landscape Ecology of Ungulate Populations

Understanding the influence of spatial heterogeneity on individual movements and population distributions has been a goal of ecological research for some time. We have been part of a 6-yr study (ending in summer 2006) focused on understanding how spatial heterogeneity shapes the habitat use and movement patterns of elk (Cervus elaphus) at multiple scales and in different landscapes. This project has involved four other principle investigators (Peter Turchin, University of Connecticut; John Fryxell, University of Guelph; Mark Boyce, University of Alberta; and Evie Merrill, University of Alberta) and graduate students and postdoctoral researchers at all sites. Four study landscapes were included, two in the Rocky Mountains (Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, and Alberta) and two in eastern deciduous forest (Wisconsin and Ontario). Traditional VHF and newly developed global positioning system (GPS) biotelemetry were used at all four sites to monitor elk movements and habitat use. Spatial and temporal patterns of forage quantity and quality were determined for all landscapes, as were estimates of predation risk, and empirical data collection was integrated with spatial analyses and modeling.

Ecology of the Wisconsin River-floodplain landscape

Our lab has been involved in research in the river and floodplain of the Wisconsin River since 1998. We have collaborated closely with Emily Stanley of the Center for Limnology, and focused initially on ecological indicators and ecosystem function for large river-floodplain landscapes with funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Research from our initial grant has been completed.

Invasive Plants in North America and East Asia

Because of the high potential for biological invasion between the US and China, we are investigating the distribution of Sino-American invasive plants, the environmental factors that influence these distributions in both native and exotic ranges, and the ability to predict them using statistical and machine-learning tools. Together with our partners at the US Geological Survey and the National Geomatics Center of China, we are developing distribution data from herbarium specimens, a GIS database of environmental predictor variables, and prediction models for a variety of species.

Biocomplexity: riparian land, people and lakes

In collaboration with a number of UW faculty and students, we focused on understanding complex systems of people and nature using a series of research approaches focused on lakes, their shoreline (riparian) systems, and the social and economic organizations of lake users. This research aims to explore the extent to which nonlinear phenomena can explain and predict changes in lake-riparian-social systems. Their general result will provide: (1) a template for basic understanding of biological complexity and (2) an example of success in the integration of socioeconomic and ecological systems.