Hawaii Volcanoes National Park plant community and fire severity data, 2018-2020

Publication Date

2021-09-07

Start Date

2018-05-01

End Date

2020-12-01

Hamilton, N.P., Yelenik, S.G., and Gill, N.S., 2021, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park plant community and fire severity data, 2018-2020: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9B3V59U.

Type: Related Primary Publication

Invasive grasses are increasing wildfire occurrence worldwide, and a better understanding of the relationships between native plants, fire, and invasive grass is needed to help restoration plans facilitate ecosystem resilience. While pre-fire grass cover is important data for considering the role of such grasses in fire severity, post-fire succession, and restoration, often such data is unavailable unless aerial imagery of pre-fire vegetation exists. Invasive grasses are particularly problematic for altering fire regimes in the tropics, yet in Hawaiʻi, restoration sites are often planted with monocultures of the native tree Acacia koa, which can promote grass via nitrogen fixation. This, combined with the difficulty of aerially judging grass cover under thick canopies, complicates attempts to restore Hawaiian ecosystems. The objectives of this study are to quantify how grass cover, fire severity, and the interaction of the two impact A. koa regeneration, and to discover whether one can obtain accurate grass cover estimations from oblique-angle aerial photography. The future resilience of koa to the increasing threat of grass-fueled wildfire depends on how it responds to various levels of grass cover and fire severity. Understanding this response and knowing whether oblique-angle aerial photography is a viable option for grass cover measurement will allow land managers to make informed choices about how they assess fire hazard and restoration priorities on their land.

• Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center
• USGS Data Release Products