When Climate Change and Invasive Species Intersect:
Water Availability
Wednesday, July 1, 2020 from 12:00 – 1:30 PM HST
Virtually on GoTo Meeting Webinar
Agenda:![Event flyer with agenda and background showing difference between fenced and un-fenced areas.]()
12:00 – 12:30: Quantifying the impacts of land-cover change and climate variability on freshwater resources in the state of Hawai‘i
Alan Mair, USGS Pacific Islands Water Science Center
12:30 – 1:00: How do invasive plants affect evapotranspiration and cloud water interception in Hawai‘i?
Tom Giambelluca, UH Water Resources Research Center
1:00 – 1:30: Question & Answer
Webinar re-cap:
How does water availability on our landscape interplay with invasive species and climate variability?
To answer this question, the July Pacific RISCC webinar featured presentations by Alan Mair from the Pacific Islands Water Science Center and Tom Giambelluca from the UH Mānoa Water Resources Research Center. Alan Mair talked about the combined hydrological impacts of non-native forest species and climate variability on groundwater recharge and how it will affect freshwater availability. While, Tom Giambelluca took us on a technical journal through his research in measuring and monitoring evapotranspiration and transpiration of invaded landscapes to understand how invasion impacts the water cycle.
Watch the full webinar below.
Interesting resources to learn more:
- Reference material for Alan Mair’s presentation includes a literature review of 50+ studies from Hawai‘i to evaluate effects on the water cycle under different resource management scenarios and a list of high priority non-native forest species. You can find both PDFs by clicking the buttons below.
- For more on Tom Giambelluca’s research, check out the UH Ecohydrology Lab
- Learn more about the USGS Pacific Islands Water Science Center (PIWSC)
- Learn more about the Water Resources Research Center (WRRC)
- Access USGS rainfall, stream flow, groundwater, and water quality data on the National Water Information System Web Interface (NWISWEb)
- Check out the Hawai‘i Groundwater Recharge Decision Support Tool for O‘ahu to evaluate how land cover and rainfall changes affect recharge