Article
Ecology
D. Jean Lodge, Ashley E. Van Beusekom, Grizelle Gonzalez, Mareli Sanchez-Julia, Sarah Stankavich
Summary: Fungi that bind leaf litter into mats and produce white-rot via degradation of lignin and other aromatic compounds have a significant influence on forest nutrient cycling and soil fertility. In Puerto Rico, the extent of white-rot litter mats formed by basidiomycete fungi decreased after disturbances, such as a simulated hurricane treatment, drought, treefall, and hurricanes. The main factors inhibiting the formation of fungal litter mats were lower litter moisture associated with drought and increased solar radiation from canopy opening. Some basidiomycete fungal litter mat species exhibited tolerance to drought.
Article
Ecology
Nicole DiManno, Rebecca Ostertag, Amanda Uowolo, Amy Durham, Kaikea Blakemore, Susan Cordell, Peter Vitousek
Summary: Many degraded ecosystems are impacted by invasive species, which possess traits that allow them to outcompete native species and alter nutrient dynamics. This study explored a functional trait-based restoration approach using species with conservative nutrient-use traits to slow rates of nutrient cycling and invasion. The findings provide evidence that such an approach can effectively reduce nutrient cycling and invasion rates.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Stephanie Yelenik, Eli Rose, Eben H. Paxton
Summary: Feedbacks within ecosystems play a crucial role in providing resilience and stability. This study examines the impact of bird-mediated seed rain and understory composition on forest restoration in intact and degraded mesic forests in Hawaii. The findings suggest that different forest types have different feedback mechanisms, and active interventions are needed to enhance forest diversity in restoration areas.
Article
Plant Sciences
Kanehiro Kitayama, Masayuki Ushio, Shin-Ichiro Aiba
Summary: The study found a distinct annual seasonality in equatorial tropical rain forests, with temperature playing a key causative role in the vegetative periodicity. The findings suggest that interactions between intra-annual temperature changes and the movement of the intertropical convergence zone are important factors in driving the dynamics of these forests. Further research is needed to understand the detailed mechanisms underlying the temperature-control of tropical tree growth.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Luis Depablos, Bruno G. C. Homem, Igor M. Ferreira, Thiago F. Bernardes, Robert M. Boddey, Marcio A. S. Lara, Daniel R. Casagrande
Summary: In grass-legume pastures, grazing management strategies have a significant impact on nitrogen cycling. The study found that less frequent defoliation can result in reduced nitrogen intake and retention by animals, leading to a decrease in nitrogen utilization efficiency.
NUTRIENT CYCLING IN AGROECOSYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Bruno G. C. Homem, Italo Braz G. de Lima, Paola P. Spasiani, Bianca C. Guimaraes, Gustavo D. Guimaraes, Thiago F. Bernardes, Claudia de P. Rezende, Robert M. Boddey, Daniel R. Casagrande
Summary: The study showed that nitrogen application or the integration of forage peanut in a grass pasture can increase the conservation of soil nitrogen reserves, playing a significant role in nitrogen cycling.
NUTRIENT CYCLING IN AGROECOSYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Ivia I. Moreno, Maria F. Barberena-Arias, Grizelle Gonzalez, D. Jean Lodge, Sharon A. Cantrell
Summary: The study revealed significant impacts of hurricanes and drought on forests, affecting green litter decomposition, invertebrate communities, and nutrient mineralization. Canopy trimming and litter had a notable influence on invertebrate abundance and nitrogen-phosphorous mineralization. However, short-term mass loss was more related to changes in litter invertebrate food web rather than decomposition rates.
Article
Agronomy
Luce Alvafritz, Dietrich Hertel
Summary: The nutrient inputs to the soil in two types of secondary tropical lowland forests are mainly influenced by aboveground litter production rather than litter chemical quality or decay. The restoration status of secondary tropical lowland forests is crucial for the nutrient status of these forest ecosystems.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Karst J. Schaap, Lucia Fuchslueger, Carlos Alberto Quesada, Florian Hofhansl, Oscar Valverde-Barrantes, Plinio B. Camargo, Marcel R. Hoosbeek
Summary: This study investigated the temporal variation of soil extracellular enzyme (EE) activity in a tropical terra-firme forest. Results showed that EE activity peaked during the drier season, associated with increased leaf litterfall and negatively correlated with precipitation. Soil nutrients were weakly related to EE activity, but extractable N was related in the top 5 cm of soil. The study suggests that EE activity is synchronized with precipitation-driven substrate inputs and depends on the availability of N, with dynamic shifts in microbial activity in response to climate seasonality and resource limitation.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Susanne Kandert, Holger Kreft, Nicole DiManno, Amanda Uowolo, Susan Cordell, Rebecca Ostertag
Summary: The invaded forest in the Hawaiian Lowland Wet Forest had the lowest native sapling density, lower light availability, and lower surface roughness compared to other management units. Restoration strategies that consider manipulation of the canopy light environment and microsite preferences of target species can better facilitate native recruitment into heavily invaded forests.
Article
Forestry
Jorge A. Giraldo, Jorge del Valle, Sebastian Gonzalez-Caro, Carlos A. Sierra
Summary: Isotope variation in wood provides new insights on growth rhythms in trees growing in tropical forests, even without seasonal droughts or flooding.
TREES-STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Valeria Santos Cavalcante, Marcio Luiz dos Santos, Luisa Carla Cotta, Julio Cesar Lima Neves, Emanuelle Merces Barros Soares
Summary: The study evaluated the decomposition dynamics, nutrient release, and biochemical composition of clonal teak litter. The half-life time of dry matter and C was 0.74 years, with N and P release having higher values than K, Ca, and Mg. Changes in the litter's biochemical composition were observed at the end of the experimental period.
REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE CIENCIA DO SOLO
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Juan D. Leon-Pelaez, William Caicedo-Ruiz, Jeiner Castellanos-Barliza
Summary: This study investigated the accumulation and decomposition of standing leaf litter, as well the flow of nutrients, in an urban dry tropical forest. It found that the decomposition rate and nutrient release rate varied among different plant species.
REVISTA CHAPINGO SERIE CIENCIAS FORESTALES Y DEL AMBIENTE
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Yosefin Ari Silvianingsih, Meine van Noordwijk, Didik Suprayogo, Kurniatun Hairiah
Summary: This study investigated the determinants of litter decomposition in wet agroforests adjacent to tropical peatlands. The results showed that mean residence time was associated with the (L + Pp)/N ratio and strong home-field advantage effects were observed. Litter residence time of approximately two years was found to be below the peat formation threshold.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Maokui Lyu, Christian P. Giardina, Creighton M. Litton
Summary: The study found that aboveground litterfall and soil respiration in a tropical montane wet forest increased positively and linearly with mean annual temperature, with total belowground carbon flux and soil respiration decreasing, but litterfall increasing, with rising annual rainfall. The sensitivity of carbon fluxes to temperature and precipitation also varied, with different responses in the driest and wettest years.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Amanda E. Knauf, Creighton M. Litton, Rebecca J. Cole, Jed P. Sparks, Christian P. Giardina, Kenneth G. Gerow, Melanie Quinones-Santiago
Summary: In a greenhouse experiment evaluating woody native and invasive species from Hawaiian wet and dry tropical ecosystems, it was found that resource conservative native species performed better under soil nutrient conditions, highlighting the potential of manipulating soil nutrient availability as a restoration tool for woody species in tropical ecosystems.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Ryan J. Longman, Courtney L. Peterson, Madeline Baroli, Abby G. Frazier, Zachary Cook, Elliott W. Parsons, Maude Dinan, Katie L. Kamelamela, Caitriana Steele, Reanna Burnett, Chris Swanston, Christian P. Giardina
Summary: The event provided practical training for natural resources management professionals working in Hawaiian forests and native ecosystems to consider climate change information and identify adaptation actions.
BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Katie L. Kamelamela, Hannah Kihalani Springer, Roberta Ku'ulei Keakealani, Moana Ulu Ching, Tamara Ticktin, Rebekah Dickens Ohara, Elliott W. Parsons, Edith D. Adkins, Kainana S. Francisco, Christian Giardina
Summary: The text discusses the formation and leadership of the Pu'u-wa'awa'a Community-Based Subsistence Forest Area (P-CBSFA) in Hawai'i, emphasizing the initiative's reliance on holistic acknowledgment of historical context, a Native Hawaiian conceptualization of the restoration process, and collaborative restoration practices.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Adrian Pascual, Christian P. Giardina, Nicholas A. Povak, Paul F. Hessburg, Chris Heider, Ed Salminen, Gregory P. Asner
Summary: The study integrated various data and methods to reduce the impacts of invasive species on ecosystems and biodiversity, proposing an optimized management plan. Focusing on the removal of the invasive strawberry guava, the study balanced economic benefits and ecological benefits through financial quantification and optimization methods.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Blaine C. Luiz, Christian P. Giardina, Lisa M. Keith, Douglass F. Jacobs, Richard A. Sniezko, Marc A. Hughes, James B. Friday, Philip Cannon, Robert Hauff, Kainana Francisco, Marian M. Chau, Nicklos Dudley, Aileen Yeh, Gregory Asner, Roberta E. Martin, Ryan Perroy, Brian J. Tucker, Ale'Alani Evangelista, Veronica Fernandez, Chloe Martins-Keli'iho'omalu, Kirie Santos, Rebekah Ohara
Summary: Metrosideros polymorpha is a keystone species in Hawaii's native forests and is of great cultural, ecological, and economic importance. However, these forests, especially on Hawaii Island, are being severely affected by Rapid 'Ohi'a Death (ROD), a disease caused by fungal pathogens. This article outlines the 'Ohi'a Disease Resistance Program (ODRP) which aims to identify and develop ROD resistance in Metrosideros polymorpha to mitigate the impacts of the disease and preserve the ecology, culture, and communities depending on this tree species.
Article
Ecology
Adrian Pascual, Christian P. Giardina, Nicholas A. Povak, Paul F. Hessburg, Gregory P. Asner
Summary: Decision-making resource stewardship models rely on statistical relationships between management actions and ecosystem services provisioning. The operationalization of management actions benefits from models capable to isolate synergic statistical relationships from trade-offs. We showcase two existing watershed planning studies requiring spatiotemporal operationalization to better schedule management actions. The study in Hawai'i Island (USA) focused on invasive species while another in Babeldaob Island (Republic of Palau) tackled wildfire management. Both planning exercises relied on Ecosystem Management Decision Support to populate hydrologically defined management units for supporting water resource decision-making. In this viewpoint we identify shortcomings and potential future directions aligned with shaping stewardship responses to the interactive constraints of climate mitigation and management costs within a very needed optimization framework capable to operationally support landscape managers and drive solutions on ES management and valuation.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Camille Piponiot, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Stuart J. Davies, David Allen, Norman A. Bourg, David F. R. P. Burslem, Dairon Cardenas, Chia-Hao Chang-Yang, George Chuyong, Susan Cordell, Handanakere Shivaramaiah Dattaraja, Alvaro Duque, Sisira Ediriweera, Corneille Ewango, Zacky Ezedin, Jonah Filip, Christian P. Giardina, Robert Howe, Chang-Fu Hsieh, Stephen P. Hubbell, Faith M. Inman-Narahari, Akira Itoh, David Janik, David Kenfack, Kamil Kral, James A. Lutz, Jean-Remy Makana, Sean M. McMahon, William McShea, Xiangcheng Mi, Mohizah Bt Mohamad, Vojtech Novotny, Michael J. O'Brien, Rebecca Ostertag, Geoffrey Parker, Rolando Perez, Haibao Ren, Glen Reynolds, Mohamad Danial Md Sabri, Lawren Sack, Ankur Shringi, Sheng-Hsin Su, Raman Sukumar, I-Fang Sun, Hebbalalu S. Suresh, Duncan W. Thomas, Jill Thompson, Maria Uriarte, John Vandermeer, Yunquan Wang, Ian M. Ware, George D. Weiblen, Timothy J. S. Whitfeld, Amy Wolf, Tze Leong Yao, Mingjian Yu, Zuoqiang Yuan, Jess K. Zimmerman, Daniel Zuleta, Helene C. Muller-Landau
Summary: Tree size determines the interaction between trees and their environment, including climate change. Through analyzing 25 large-scale forest plots, it was found that in warmer forests, aboveground biomass and woody productivity are more broadly distributed with respect to tree size. In warmer and wetter forests, aboveground biomass and woody productivity are more right skewed, with a longer tail towards large trees. Small trees contribute more to productivity and mortality than to biomass.
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Natalia Mesa-Sierra, Marines de la Pena-Domene, Julio Campo, Christian P. Giardina
Summary: Deforestation poses a significant threat to tropical dry forests in Mexico, and active restoration measures are required to reintroduce tree cover. Through synthesizing restoration literature, we found that the Yucatan Peninsula had the highest number of restoration sites, and planting seedlings was the most commonly used strategy. Plant survival was influenced by factors such as maximum annual temperature and aridity index.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Ian M. Ware, Rebecca Ostertag, Susan Cordell, Christian P. Giardina, Lawren Sack, Camila D. Medeiros, Faith Inman, Creighton M. Litton, Thomas Giambelluca, Grace P. John, Christine Scoffoni
Summary: Understanding the role of multi-stemmed trees in mediating climate resilience in dry forests is crucial. Research indicates that multi-stemmed trees contribute to the persistence and productivity of Hawaiian lowland dry forests, with higher stem abundance and carbon storage compared to single-stemmed trees.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Anaitzi Rivero-Villar, Marines de la Pena-Domene, Gerardo Rodriguez-Tapia, Christian P. Giardina, Julio Campo
Summary: There is significant variation in soils of the tropical dry forest biome across different biogeographic domains, with strong influences from climate and geology. Soil properties and fertility differ greatly among regions, with organic carbon and nitrogen content correlated with temperature and precipitation.
Article
Ecology
Marines de la Pena-Domene, Gerardo Rodriguez Tapia, Natalia Mesa-Sierra, Anaitzi Rivero-Villar, Christian P. Giardina, Nels G. Johnson, Julio Campo
Summary: This study provides a comprehensive analysis of spatial patterns in resource supply in tropical dry forests (TDFs) and establishes a model with climate and soil-related indices to assess the extent and characteristics of these forests.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Paul C. Selmants, Caelan R. Conrad, Tamara S. Wilson, Miguel L. Villarreal
Summary: Drought and land use change can affect riparian vegetation, but the response varies depending on the biophysical setting and land use gradients. Our study found that riparian areas located in the lower elevation Coast Range in central California experienced long-term declines in vegetation productivity, while those along rivers draining the higher elevation Sierra Nevada range showed an increase. River systems with a high proportion of snowmelt water may be less prone to long-term drought-driven declines in productivity. The long-term increase in riparian vegetation productivity may also be influenced by rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations.
Article
Ecology
Julian Dendy, Dino Mesubed, Patrick L. Colin, Christian P. Giardina, Susan Cordell, Tarita Holm, Amanda Uowolo
Summary: Wildfires pose a threat to biodiversity and human health in the Republic of Palau, particularly on the main island of Babeldaob. While wildfires mainly occur in the savanna systems, they can also extend into adjacent forest areas. The number of wildfires and burned area are higher during dry seasons, with the most severe cases observed during an El Nino drought year.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Rachel Dacks, Heather McMillen, Pua Heimuli, Kimberly Kahaleua, Sanoe Burgess, Christian P. Giardina, Kainana Francisco, Tamara Ticktin
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted environmental stewardship groups in Hawai'i, leading to funding losses, volunteer activity cancellations, and reduced workforce for some groups. However, some groups were able to secure new pandemic-specific funding sources and increase their online presence, strengthening community connections and addressing community needs. Many volunteers missed the social benefits of volunteering and engaging with the land while a significant number reported negative psychological impacts from a lack of engagement with stewardship groups during the pandemic.
FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE CITIES
(2021)