A baseline assessment of forest composition, structure, and health in the Hawai‘i experimental tropical forests
This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document here.Abstract
The US Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station has been working in the Hawaiian islands since 2010. During this time they have installed a base grid of field plots across all of the Hawaiian Islands and an intensified sample of two experimental forests, the Laupahoehoe and Pu‘u Wa‘awa‘a units of the Hawaii Experimental Tropical Forests (HETF). These intensified plots used the standard P3 FIA plot design but included a number of additional measurements that were designed to address forest health issues specific to Hawai›i›s forests. Preliminary analysis of all of the data provides important insights into the structure and composition of the forests including tree damages, regeneration (seedling recruitment), understory composition, and the presence of invasive species. Results of this initial inventory effort and a preliminary analysis will be presented. Highlights include key differences in the extent of invasive species and ungulate damage across plots in these different forests.