CLIMATE SCIENCE

FOREST MANAGEMENT

A variety of lush trees form an intergrown area.

Agroforestry in the Climate of the Marshall Islands

This agroforestry tool provides Marshallese agricultural producers with information and resources to help adapt growing practices to changing climate conditions.
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
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
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.
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
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
Image looking up the trunk of a light-barked tree

Comparing arbuscular mycorrhizal diversity among different life stages of Intsia bijuga (Colebr.) Kuntze in Guam’s Limestone Forests

PI: Alexander Kerr, Professor of Marine Biology, University of Guam
Co-PI: Charles "CJ" Paulino, Environmental Science, University of Guam
Funded: FY2020
A dry grassy landscape of gently rolling hillocks and occasional trees.

Optimizing techniques to restore forest to increase endangered species habitat and mitigate future drought

PI: Jonathan Price, Professor of Geography , UH Hilo
Co-PI: Amberly Pigao, Tropical Conservation Biology & Environmental Science, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2020
An inner slope of the cone shows grass and sparse trees

Understanding plants of the past to inform community reforestation efforts in the future

PI: Jonathan Price, Professor of Geography , UH Hilo
Co-PI: David Russell , Restoration & Outplanting Field Assistant, Nāpuʻu Natural Resources Management
Funded: FY2020
Underwater scene of colorful corals and fish

Sea-level rise impacts on coral reef and mangrove interactions and resulting coastal flooding hazards

PI: Curt Storlazzi, Research Geologist, USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Co-I: Karen Thorne, Research Ecologist, USGS Western Ecological Research Center
Funded: FY2020