LB 14-132 - An island of its own: exploring the unique contribution of the NEON site at Pu’u Maka’ala to studies of land management and conservation

Hawaiʻi is a unique set of ecosystems with complex geological, ecological, and evolutionary history. Anthropogenic disturbance has compounded this complexity, especially with the introduction of invasive plant and animal species. Long-term forest dynamics plots are uniquely suited to handle these challenges, especially in the context of ecosystem reference conditions that may be desirable to management and conservation. Towards this, the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) has recently finished construction of a long-term forest dynamics plot on 4,720 hectares of wet montane forest at the Puʻu Makaʻala Natural Area Reserve on Hawaiʻi Island. The primary design standardizes its measurements with the rest of the NEON study design, but may omit some measurements that are locally important to ecosystem dynamics. Here, we collect and collate additional data at the Puʻu Makaʻala study site that enhances its utility in local studies of conservation and resource management. We focus on supplemental spatial data that can be connected to currently published NEON data products and used to inform land management efforts in Hawaiʻi. Preliminary results suggest that disturbance (i.e. ungulate) history is critical for understanding vegetation dynamics. Soil processes, including pedogenesis and nitrogen fertilization, also plays a strong role in structuring plant communities. These results may have significant implications for conservation efforts in Hawaiʻi, especially in the context of restoration after successful management for invasive species. In addition, this information provides important ecological context to researchers working with data from Puʻu Makaʻala in cross-site and broad-scale analyses across the entire NEON network.