Monica Turner

After rejoining with fellow ecologist Bill Romme an expert in Yellowstone fire-history Turner was able to find the landscape she needed in the fire ridden Yellowstone, in which more than one-third of the park had been burned. That 1988 “summer of fire” made Yellowstone history. Early blazes, sparked in June by a combination of lightning and human activities, burned for several weeks without raising much concern. As the summer got hotter and drier, though, the situation quickly turned. In July, “we had active fires spread, but nothing that we hadn’t previously experienced,” recalls Roy Renkin, a Yellowstone biologist. “But then, here came August.... Then things started to really pick up and go.” One of Turner’s major projects in Yellowstone was examining the regrowth of lodgepole pine, the dominant tree species in the park. Read Less

Turner’s work at Yellowstone, which spans over a period of 20 years, has provided an insight unto the resiliency of ecosystems after major disturbances. ‘‘As we continue to deal with the effects of global warming, I think we are going to see an increasing frequency, severity, and range of disturbances, which will produce much more interaction,’’ Turner on the future of ecological disturbances.

Turner’s current research at the University of Wisconsin includes:

Aided by collaborative research with faculty in the University of Wisconsin and outside, as well as researchers, postdoctoral associates, and both graduate and undergraduate students. Although primarily a terrestrial ecology group Turners work also includes the interface between terrestrial and aquatic systems. Read Less