Treesearch
Decline of Ohia Lehua forests in Hawaii
| Authors: | Robert E. Burgan, Robert E. Nelson |
| Year: | 1972 |
| Type: | General Technical Report |
| Station: | Pacific Southwest Research Station |
| Source: | General Technical Report PSW-3. Berkeley, CA: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 4 p |
Download (PDF 6.66 MB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/25213.pdf
Abstract
Thousands of acres of ohia lehua (Metrosidems collina) forests on the island of Hawaii have died, and tree death is progressing rapidly into healthy forests. Most of the losses are on State-owned lands. All of the "ohia decline" cannot be attributed to the same agent. Some of the earlier decline was attributed to frost and sulphur dioxide. But other factors, including possibly the shoestring root-rot (Armillaria mellea), are responsible for the current losses. Federal and State agencies are seeking to determine the causes of the decline and what control measures are feasible.