CLIMATE SCIENCE

Adaptation and Management

ADAPTATION AND MANAGEMENT

Students examine rocks and marine life at the oceanʻs edge.

He ala ʻae kai – The path near the sea: Climate inflictions upon intertidal

PI: John Burns , Assistant Professor of Marine Science, UH Hilo
Co-PI: Lauren Kapono , Tropical Conservation Biology & Environmental Science, UH Hilo; Haunani Kane, Post-doctoral Researcher, Marine Science Department, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2020
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View across a green hill with dark patches of burn scars and blue, tropical ocean in the background.

Perceptions of wildfire and wildfire management on Guam

PI: Christine Fejeran, Chief Forester, Guam Forestry Division
Co-PI: Farron Taijeron, Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, University of Guam
Funded: FY2020
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Open forest view of taller trees and lower ferns

Machine learning approaches to improve projections of future climate in Hawai‘i

PI: Tom Giambelluca, Professor of Geography, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: Yusuke Hatanaka, Department of Computer and Data Science, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2020
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Firefighters tend a grassy fire break line in front of burning brush, with a blackened, smoky landscape behind

Future of fire in the Pacific Islands: Towards a national synthesis for wildland fire under a changing climate

PI: Christian Giardina Research , Ecologist, Inst. of Pacific Islands Forestry, US Forest Service
Co-PI: Alyssa Anderson , Fire Post-doctoral Fellow, UH Mānoa Funded: FY2020

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A very dry landscape with brown grassy hills and brown, dead trees

Scaling up the Hawai‘i Drought Knowledge Exchange

PI: Christian Giardina , Research Ecologist, Inst. of Pacific Islands Forestry, US Forest Service
Co-PI: Abby Frazier , Research Fellow, East-West Center, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2020
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Student examines plants along a greenery-bordered path

2020 SURF Projects

Three students completed projects in climate adaptation science for the 2020 SURF program, investigating salinity tolerance in coastal plants, fire-plant interactions, and new techniques to improve reforestation efforts.
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A shallow valley is covered with dead brown grass and a scattering of dead and dying tree trunks.

Malo‘o ka lani, wela ka honua (When the sky is dry, the earth is parched)

PI: Christian Giardina, Research Ecologist, Inst. of Pacific Islands Forestry, US Forest Service
Co-PI: Katie Kamelamela, Postdoctoral Researcher, Akaka Foundation for Tropical Forests
Funded: FY20
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Hilly barren landscape with low burnt browned grass

Biochar as a mitigation tool for soil rehabilitation in Guam’s badlands and savannah grasslands

PI: Mohammad Golabi, Professor of Soil Science, University of Guam
Co-PI: Patrick Keeler, Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, University of Guam
Funded: FY2020
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A small reef fish, with bright yellow rings around the eyes.

How will changing reefscapes affect the prevalence of ciguatera on Hawaiian reefs?

PI: Tim Grabowski, Fish Biologist, Hawai‘i Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, USGS/Adjunct Professor of Marine Science, UH Hilo
Co-PI: Nikola Rodriguez, Tropical Conservation Biology & Environmental Science, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2020
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A small, brown bird sits on the branch of a tree

Development of an early warning system for climate-change related invasion by mosquitoes into Hakalau Forest NWR

PI: Patrick Hart, Professor of Biology, UH Hilo
Co-PI: Stephanie Mladinich, Tropical Conservation Biology & Environmental Science, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2020
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