A new approach allows for mapping Rapid Ohia Death in Hawaii’s last remaining native forests.
Projects Invasive Species
A spectral basis for detection, mapping, and monitoring the spread of Rapid Ohia Death in Hawaiian forests.
Repeat monitoring with LiDAR yields new insights on the impacts of invasive species on forest condition
Collaborating researchers showcased their wide-ranging technology for journalists Monday at the Hilo Air Patrol.
A tree can be infected with either of the two species of Ceratocystis fungi that causes ROD for months before symptoms of the illness — browning leaves — appear, but once symptoms do show up the tree dies within weeks. An estimated 75,000 acres of ohia forest on the Big Island have already been affected. More than 200,000 ohia trees died between 2015 and 2016, with some research estimates placing the number closer to 300,000.
Biological invasion trumps environmental factors in determining forest function and structure in Hawaii
Mapped changes in forest productivity and carbon stocks indicate the spread of an invasive tree in Hawaii
A new approach to prioritize landscapes for restoration based on mapped vegetation properties
Imaging spectroscopy maps low-density, variable phenology invader throughout a California mediterranean-type ecosystem
Remote sensing aids in efforts to restore ecosystems following degradation and other long-term challenges
Source: Restoration Ecology
Patient zero was probably in Puna, a lush, wild district not far from Volcanoes National Park on Hawaii’s Big Island. In 2010, the U.S. Forest Service and University of Hawaii started getting calls from distraught landowners in the area about ohia trees on their properties. Ohias, the bright, flowered trees that dominate nearly 50 percent of the island-state’s forests, are known for their ability to thrive nearly anywhere across the archipelago. But a swath of them had withered mysteriously and died in a matter of weeks.