MEDIA RELEASE
On Friday, Feb. 25, the fifth annual Nahelehele Dry Forest Symposium will highlight dry land forest ecology and restoration efforts in Hawaii.
The Symposium brings together researchers and conservationists to share their ideas on how to preserve and restore Hawaii’s remaining dry land forests.
The dry forests of Hawaii are fragile habitats that are home to many of the rarest plants in the world. Dry forests were once considered to be the most diverse forest ecosystem on the Hawaiian Islands but today they are extremely deforested and degraded.
In North Kona, only remnant patches of the habitat remain to remind us of the highly diverse community of plants and animals that once dominated the landscape of West Hawaii. How to take care of – and restore – these remaining patches of forest is the challenge Hawaii now faces, and the topic of this year’s Dry Forest Symposium.
The stage for the full-day event will be set by Dr. Jon Price, University of Hawaii Hilo, who will talk about climate change and Hawaii’s dry forests. Hawaii is already experiencing rapid climate shifts in temperature.
Warming and accompanying changes in rainfall will likely accelerate and affect plants and animals living in Hawaii’s forests. These changes will fundamentally alter the capacity of Hawaiian ecosystems to support future generations and have dramatic impacts on the economic, cultural and social well-being of Hawaii’s citizens.
Price will discus the direction of climate change and its potential effects on the range of dry forest, as well as possibilities for pre-emptive restoration in habitat that may be suitable for dry forest communities in the future.
Highly endangered dry forest ecosystems in Hawaii are often degraded by invasive species, and are being lost at a rapid rate. Invasive plant species are so pervasive that it is neither cost-effective nor practical to eradicate all non-native species. How can Hawaii preserve its biodiversity in the face of these ever-expanding invasive species?
A new idea is to try developing “hybrid ecosystems” – native and non-native (but non-invasive) species mixed in a way that benefits native biodiversity.
Dr. Sam Gon, senior scientist and cultural adviser with The Nature Conservancy will discuss the concept of hybrid ecosystems and dry forest restoration. Gon would like to see ecosystem restoration efforts assert native species as much as possible and see native plants re-established in areas where they’re no longer found, but he also recognizes this is difficult and time consuming. Hybrid ecosystems could be a way to incorporate some non-native plants but allow native plants to thrive.
Why are invasive plants so dangerous? Dr. Erin Questad, Research Ecologist with the USDA Forest Service Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry will describe how invasive species negatively affect native species and create undesirable conditions.
For example, invasive grasses in tropical dry forests elevate fire danger and spread, causing the destruction of native plant communities, grazing lands, and other private property.
Questad’s research group is testing whether native plant restoration can reduce invasion and restore the critical ecosystem function of fire resistance in Hawaii dryland ecosystems.
The symposium’s afternoon session will include a variety of talks about dry forest restoration efforts. Dr. Art Medeiros from the USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center will describe dryland forest restoration at Auwahi, Maui.
A century ago Auwahi was a unique and diverse Hawaiian forest, but by the 1990s many considered it a “museum forest” that was beyond hope of restoration. However, after over a decade of restoration, 31 of 48 native plant species at Auwahi are reproducing naturally. Outside, natural reproduction is occurring in only 2 of 48 native plants.
Dave Faucette, Project Manager for the community-based Waikoloa Dry Forest Recovery Project, will discuss strategies for preserving and restoring a 275 acre patch of lowland wiliwili forest habitat.
The landscape surrounding Waikoloa Village represents one of the best examples of a wiliwili dominated lowland dry forest still remaining within the State of Hawaii. The area is home to about 80 wiliwili trees and 13 endangered uhiuhi trees.
Palamanui is not only the site of a proposed residential community in north Kona, but contains a 55 acre dryland forest preserve. This near pristine forest – it has probably never seen a major disturbance – is one of the only areas of self-regenerating dry forest on the Big Island.
Faith Inman-Narahari from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary at UCLA will talk about natural regeneration in Palamanui. She will present her data on relative abundance and distribution of native and invasive plants, as well as ideas about
what factors potentially limit natural regeneration.
The importance of seedling quality in outplanting efforts is sometimes overlooked. Dr. Anthony S. Davis from the Department of Forest Ecology and Biogeosciences at the University of Idaho will discuss seedling handling from the nursery to the field, particularly during drought conditions.
His research, conducted with numerous partners at Puu Waawaa and Hakalau NWR has addressed how container sizes and nutritional regimes affect performance once seedlings are outplanted. His Waimea nursery trials have investigated subirrigation, fertilization and inoculation with rhizobium.
Non-native ungulates have had large effects on native Hawaiian ecosystems since their introduction in the 18th century. Large feral goat populations are present on five of the eight main Hawaiian Islands, yet little information exists on their behavioral ecology and habitat use.
Mark Chynoweth from UH Manoa will talk about his satellite tagging study to track goat movements in the Pohakuloa Training Area. He will show how movement data can be used to determine what plant communities are being impacted by goats.
Ultimately, the results of this study can be applied to both the conservation and restoration of native Hawaiian dry forest ecosystems.
Chynoweth will be followed by Edith Nonner, Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife, who will discuss her work to develop a management plan for game mammals in Puu Anahulu and Puu Waawaa. One of Hawaii’s major and controversial natural resource management issues is the protection of native ecosystems versus public hunting of non-native game mammals.
Management for higher populations of game mammals may potentially have serious negative effect on protected plant species.
Two field trips will be held preceding the symposium on Thursday, Feb. 24.
One field trip will visit the Waikaloa Dry Forest Recovery Project. The remnant forest patch lies ½ mile south of the community of Waikoloa Village at approximately 1000 ft. elevation on the northwest flank of the island of Hawaii. Project Manager Dave Faucette will lead the trip and discuss progress made towards preserving and restoring wiliwili and endangered uhiuhi trees in the 275 acre preserve, as well as efforts to reintroduce other Hawaiian dry forest plants.
The second field trip will visit Puu Waawaa Forest Reserve. In October 2007, almost 38,000 acres within the ahupuaa of Puu Waawaa were designated as the Puu Waawaa Forest Reserve. Puu Waawaa has also been designated as a Hawaii Experimental Tropical Forest unit to serve as a center for long-term research and a focal point for developing and transferring knowledge and expertise for the management of tropical forests. Puu Waawaa coordinator Elliot Parsons will lead the trip.
The symposium is 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort. For registration and information, call The Kohala Center at 808-887-6411 or go to www.kohalacenter.org/nahelehele/about.html
For more information about the program and field trips, go to www.drylandforest.org/events.
Conference registration, including lunch, is $50. After Feb. 15, symposium registration increases to $65. Registration for the field trips is $25 each.
Field trip participation is limited and no registrations will be accepted after Feb. 15. Student registration is $35 before Feb. 15 and $45 after that date.
The symposium is a project of Kaahahui O ka NÄhelehele, a nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing dryland native plant communities in Hawaii. Partners in sponsoring this conference are Bishop Museum’s Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, Hawaii Forestry Industry Association, Hawaii Tourism Authority Kukulu Ola: Living Hawaiian Culture Program, Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, Kamehameha Schools-LAD, Leonard Bisel Associates LLC, Kuki o and The Kohala Center.
