HAPPENINGS

Liko Nā Pilina is a forest restoration experiment located in the lowland wet forests (LWF) of Hilo, Hawaiʻi founded by Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center (PI-CASC) funded researchers, Rebecca Ostertag, professor of biology at the University of Hawaʻi at Hilo, and Susan Cordell and Amanda Uowolo, both ecologists with the U.S. Forestry Service. Working in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Army National Guard in Keaukaha, the project aims to combat the loss of Hawaiian LWF due to human colonization and associated invasive species introductions.

Prior to beginning this project, the forest was heavily invaded, and though some native plants persisted in the forest canopy, they were not reproducing due to the vast amount of weeds and leaf litter on the forest floor. Complete removal of non-native species was too labor intensive and time-consuming to be sustainable, and invasive plants would grow right back; native plants on their own could not compete.

Considering that some non-native species may play beneficial roles in an ecological community, Ostertag et al. adjusted their approach to develop a hybrid ecosystem, consisting of both native plants and introduced non-invasive plants based on desirable functional traits. They aimed to establish a forest that has natural regeneration of native plants, that has reduced nutrient cycling, and that is more resistant against invasive species. Liko Nā Pilina translates to “budding new relationships” in Hawaiian, alluding to how we can find new partnerships between plants that may not have grown altogether before.

The Liko Nā Pilina project is part of a larger effort with the Lowland Wet Forest Working Group, which connects land managers across Hawaiʻi. Craig Blasidell, the Natural Resources Management Specialist for Hawaiʻi Army National Guard, is one of these land managers. Using data collected from the Liko Nā Pilina project, Blasidell can help better inform management priorities and what species to plant.

PI-CASC Manager Climate Corps graduate student Konapiliahi Dancil is also working with KMR and the LWF working group. His project aimed to develop habitat suitability analyses to determine where different Hawaiian plants will thrive as climate change adjusts habitat conditions.

In the face of the many threats posed to Hawaiian LWF, the hybrid restoration approach demonstrated by Liko Nā Pilina presents a new approach to landowners for restoring functional forest that promotes native biodiversity while also being less labor intensive than a traditional forest restoration approach.

Connect with Liko Nā Pilina at the Laulima Native Plant Day in Mountain View on April 12 or at the Lā Honua Career Fair at UH Hilo on April 17. They are also looking for volunteers for a community planting day on Monday, April 21. Sign up here.