Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Plant Trait, Percent Cover, and Environmental Data 2014

Publication Date

2020-01-06

Start Date

2014-06-01

End Date

2014-09-01

Henn, J.J., and Yelenik, S.G., 2020, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Plant Trait, Percent Cover, and Environmental Data 2014: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9WCNWEJ.

Type: Related Primary Publication

Determining the characteristics of non-native plants that can successfully establish and spread is central to pressing questions in invasion ecology. Evidence suggests that some non-native species establish and spread in new environments because they possess characteristics (functional traits) that allow them to either successfully compete with native residents or fill previously unfilled niches. However, the relative importance of out-competing native species vs. filling empty niche space as potential mechanisms of invasion may depend on environmental characteristics. Here, we measured plant functional traits, proxies indicative of competitive and establishment strategies, to determine if these traits vary among native and invasive species and if their prevalence is dependent on environmental conditions. Using a natural environmental gradient in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, we evaluated how functional traits differ between native and non-native plant communities and if these differences change along an environmental gradient from hot, dry to cool, wet conditions.

• Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center
• USGS Data Release Products