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Long-term ecological studies are critical for providing key insights in ecology, environmental change, natural resource management and biodiversity conservation. However, island fire ecology is poorly understood. No previous studies are available that analyze vegetative changes in burned and unburned dry forest remnants on Wa'ahila Ridge, Hawai'i. This study investigates vegetation succession from 2008 to 2015, following a fire in 2007 which caused significant differences in species richness, plant density, and the frequency of woody, herb, grass, and lichens between burned and unburned sites. These findings infer that introduced plants have better competitive ability to occupy open canopy lands than native plants after fire. This study also illustrates the essential management need to prevent alien plant invasion, and to restore the native vegetation in lowland areas of the Hawaiian Islands by removing invasive species outplanting native plants after fire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many Hawaiian forests, including cloud forests, native plant communities are being displaced by invasive tree species, possibly affecting rainfall partitioning and direct harvesting of cloud droplets by vegetation. In this study, the hydrological impacts of invasive species are examined, using measurements of rainfall (RF), throughfall (TF) and stemflow (SF), and estimation of wet-canopy evaporation and cloud water interception (CWI) by the canopy water balance approach in both native Metrosideros polymorpha-dominated and invaded, Psidium cattleianum-dominated forests within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park (HAVO). Canopy water storage capacity was found to be more than twice as great at the native site (1·86 mm) compared to the invaded site (0·85 mm). Annual RF, CWI, TF and SF were 3233, 1188, 3700 and 261 mm, respectively, for the native site; and 3735, 734, 3033 and 1091 mm, respectively, for the invaded site. Net RF (TF + SF) was 123 and 110% of RF, respectively, at the two sites. Annual evaporation of water from the wet canopy was also greater at the native site (464 mm) than at the invaded site (347 mm). Low canopy water storage capacity and the exceptionally high SF total at the invaded site are related to morphological characteristics and high stem density of the invasive P. cattleianum tree, which favour efficient transport of intercepted water to the ground via the stems. Despite its more peripheral location near the edge of the orographic cloud, CWI at the native site was higher. The characteristics of the native M. polymorpha tree may facilitate more effective harvesting of cloud water droplets, enhancing CWI at the site. Species invasion results in a lower proportion of RF reaching the forest floor (110 vs 123%) and becoming available for groundwater recharge, suggesting that invasion by P. cattleianum may have significant negative effects on Hawai'i's aquatic ecosystems and water resources. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contribution of intercepted cloud water to precipitation at windward and leeward cloud forest sites on the slopes of Haleakalā, Maui was assessed using two approaches. Canopy water balance estimates based on meteorological monitoring were compared with interpretations of fog screen measurements collected over a 2-year period at each location. The annual incident rainfall was 973 mm at the leeward site (Auwahi) and 2550 mm at the windward site (Waikamoi). At the leeward, dry forest site, throughfall was less than rainfall (87%), and, at the windward, wet forest site, throughfall exceeded rainfall (122%). Cloud water interception estimated from canopy water balance was 166 mm year at Auwahi and 1212 mm year at Waikamoi. Annual fog screen measurements of cloud water flux, corrected for wind-blown rainfall, were 132 and 3017 mm for the dry and wet sites respectively. Event totals of cloud water flux based on fog screen measurements were poorly correlated with event cloud water interception totals derived from the canopy water balance. Hence, the use of fixed planar fog screens to estimate cloud water interception is not recommended. At the wet windward site, cloud water interception made up 32% of the total precipitation, adding to the already substantial amount of rainfall. At the leeward dry site, cloud water interception was 15% of the total precipitation. Vegetation at the dry site, where trees are more exposed and isolated, was more efficient at intercepting the available cloud water than at the rainy site, but events were less frequent, shorter in duration and lower in intensity. A large proportion of intercepted cloud water, 74% and 83%, respectively for the two sites, was estimated to become throughfall, thus adding significantly to soil water at both sites. Published in 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term ecological studies are critical for providing key insights in ecology, environmental change, natural resource management and biodiversity conservation. However, island fire ecology is poorly understood. No previous studies are available that analyze vegetative changes in burned and unburned dry forest remnants on Wa'ahila Ridge, Hawai'i. This study investigates vegetation succession from 2008 to 2015, following a fire in 2007 which caused significant differences in species richness, plant density, and the frequency of woody, herb, grass, and lichens between burned and unburned sites. These findings infer that introduced plants have better competitive ability to occupy open canopy lands than native plants after fire. This study also illustrates the essential management need to prevent alien plant invasion, and to restore the native vegetation in lowland areas of the Hawaiian Islands by removing invasive species out-planting native plants after fire.