Developing Novel Ecosystems that Enhance Carbon Storage, Native Biodiversity, and Human Mobility in Lowland Hawaiian Forests
RC-2117
Objective
Natural ecosystems are becoming homogenized by the introduction and establishment of non-native species. This breakdown of biogeographic barriers is unprecedented in earth’s history. Invasion is so pervasive that often it is not possible, economically or practically, to return to all-native ecosystems. Some non-native species, however, may be playing important roles in the community in terms of providing ecosystem goods and services.
The objective of this project is to develop and evaluate a set of "hybrid ecosystems," in which a mix of native and non-native species maintains valuable forest structure and ecosystem services. Utilizing ecological assembly rules and species-level information, researchers will design combinations of species that will serve as self-sustaining hybrid ecosystems, balancing trade-offs between supporting native biodiversity and human needs for carbon storage and military training.
Technical Approach
Work will be conducted at the Hawaii Army National Guard Keaukaha Military Reservation on the Island of Hawaii. Traits that contribute to ecological services will be quantitatively assessed by species using a species trait-based optimization approach. For each trait, a quantitative score based on categories representing the variation within that trait will be designated. The species-level information will be used to design restoration treatments, which will be created by first removing non-native species and then developing a new community assemblage of native and non-native species in several combinations (hybrid ecosystems). Treatments will be developed that focus on the provisioning of the ecosystem services of carbon storage, invasion resistance, native biodiversity individually, a mixture that balances all three ecosystem services, and a control (the present species composition). Treatments will involve removing non-native species from an area and replanting with an appropriate mixture of non-native species and native species. To evaluate treatment effectiveness, biotic and abiotic indicators will be tracked. The analysis will determine both the rate of ecological processes in these treatments as well as the costs entailed in these types of management.
Benefits
The Department of Defense owns or manages important training installations in tropical forests where invasive species threaten the military mission and the ecological integrity of native ecosystems. This research is directed towards maintaining the structure and much of the biodiversity of native forests in communities so that they can be sustained in the face of biological invasion and human use. A model approach to designing novel ecosystems that contain a mixture of native and non-native species will be developed. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2016)
Symposium & Workshop
FY 2013 New Start Project Selections
Points of Contact
Principal Investigator
Dr. Rebecca Ostertag
University of Hawaii at Hilo
Phone: 808-974-7361
Program Manager
Resource Conservation and Climate Change
SERDP and ESTCP
Document Types
- Fact Sheet - Brief project summary with links to related documents and points of contact.
- Final Report - Comprehensive report for every completed SERDP and ESTCP project that contains all technical results.
- Cost & Performance Report - Overview of ESTCP demonstration activities, results, and conclusions, standardized to facilitate implementation decisions.
- Technical Report - Additional interim reports, laboratory reports, demonstration reports, and technology survey reports.
- Guidance - Instructional information on technical topics such as protocols and user’s guides.
- Workshop Report - Summary of workshop discussion and findings.
- Multimedia - On demand videos, animations, and webcasts highlighting featured initiatives or technologies.
- Model/Software - Computer programs and applications available for download.
- Database - Digitally organized collection of data available to search and access.