Carbon storage landscapes of lowland Hawaii: The role of native and invasive species through space and time

Abstract

Tropical forests are important storehouses of carbon and biodiversity. In isolated island ecosystems such as the Hawaiian Islands, relative dominance of native and nonnative tree species may influence patterns of forest carbon stocks and biodiversity. We determined aboveground carbon density (ACD) across a matrix of lava flows differing in age, texture, and vegetation composition (i.e., native or nonnative dominated) in wet lowland forests of Hawaii Island. To do this at the large scales necessary to accurately capture the inherent heterogeneity of these forests, we collected LiDAR data across areas of interest and developed relationships between LiDAR metrics and field-based estimates of forest ACD. This approach enabled us to inventory, rather than merely sample, the entire populations (i.e., forests) of interest. Native Hawaiian wet lowland forests exhibited ACD values similar to those of intact tropical forests elsewhere. In general, ACD of these forests increased with increasing lava flow age, but patterns differed between native and nonnative forest stands. On the youngest lavas, native-dominated forest ACD averaged

Citation

Hughes, R.F.; Asner, G.P.; Mascaro, J.; Uowolo, A; Baldwin, J. 2014. Carbon storage landscapes of lowland Hawaii: the role of native and invasive species through space and time. Ecological Applications. 24: 716-731.