Forest Restoration

The National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and community Citizen Scientists are working together to remove brown treesnakes at War in the Pacific National Historical Park - Asan Beach Unit to aid restoration of native avian and reptile species.

We are studying post-fire forest regeneration in montane habitats within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. By testing out different restoration strategies, as well as links between grass cover and fire, we hope to increase restored forest fire resistance and resilience.

We are testing different planting mixtures and densities to refine restoration efforts in the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge.

ʻŌhiʻa ( Metrosideros polymorpha) is the dominant tree in Hawaiian forests, but Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD), a newly emerging disease that stands to cause high mortality of this ecologically important tree, may lead to invasions by exotic plants as gaps open in the forest. To better understand if planting of ʻōhiʻa seedlings can be used as a restoration tool, we investigated the survival of ʻōhiʻa...

Recent studies show that past and ongoing environmental changes have been substantial and have likely already affected conservation efforts in Hawai‘i. Much of the state has experienced substantial drying, including decreases in mean annual precipitation since the 1920s, longer rainless periods, and decreasing stream flow. Temperatures have been increasing in Hawai‘i for the last 40 years...

Hawai‘i's precipitation is greatest in upland areas that are typically forested. This precipitation provides water for both people and ecosystems. Precipitation can either run off and contribute to streamflow, or infiltrate into the ground and provide water for plants, base flow to streams, or recharge to aquifers. The exact routing that water takes is controlled by many factors, including the...