Cities are often shown in red on land-cover maps, yet there is an enormous amount of heterogeneity within the urban landscape. Most of us also live and work in urban and suburban landscapes, and our daily experiences with nature are often in the city. Thus, our research also extends to urban landscapes. We have addressed ecosystem services, invasive species and land-use legacies in the mid-sized midwestern city of Madison – where we live and work. Our work has also engaged local residents in community science. In concert with the North Temperate Lakes LTER, we are beginning new studies aimed at understanding biodiversity, ecological dynamics and ecohydrology of urban ponds and wetlands. Stay tuned for more on this exciting topic!
Explore more
North Temperate Lakes LTER: Much of our work is collaborative with the North Temperate Lakes LTER site.
Flash Flooding Resilience: How the City of Madison is responding to intense rain events.
Selected recent + classic publications
(Please visit our publications page for PDFs)
Ziter, C., B. M. Herrick, M. R. Johnston, and M. G. Turner. 2021. Ready, set, go: Community science field campaign reveals habitat preferences of non-native Asian earthworms in an urban landscape. BioScience 71:280-291.
Ziter, C., and M. G. Turner. 2019. No evidence of co-facilitation between a non-native Asian earthworm (Amynthas tokioensis) and invasive common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) in experimental mesocosms. Biological Invasions 21:111-122.
Ziter, C., E. J. Pederson, C. J. Kucharik, and M. G. Turner. 2019. Scale-dependent interactions between tree canopy cover and impervious surfaces reduce daytime urban heat during summer. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116:7575-7580.
Ziter, C., and M. G. Turner. 2018. Current and historical land use influence soil-based ecosystem service supply in an urban landscape. Ecological Applications 28:643-654.
Qiu, J. and M. G. Turner. 2017. Effects of non-native Asian earthworm invasion on temperate forests and prairies in the Midwestern US. Biological Invasions 19:73-88.