Vital Sign Monitoring: Focal Terrestrial Plant Communities

Naupaka (Scaevola sericea) is commonly found on or near beaches throughout Hawaii.

Description & Rational
Long-term vegetation monitoring is essential to determine plant community health, ecosystem stability, and the effects of management activities. National Parks act as important references in environmental monitoring, in that they include similar ecosystems to those highly altered by humans. Changes in species composition and community or stand structure are indicators of changing physical (e.g., soil, hydrology, nutrient processes) and biological conditions (e.g., invasive plants, animals, insects, and disease). Because basic plant community level parameters such as cover and density are repeatable over time analysis of trends can generate a predictive model for determining the future outcomes of plants, communities, and ecosystems. These models enable managers to modify management practices to ensure the long term persistence of native ecosystems. Focal plant communities include the wet forest at HAVO, HALE, KALA and NPSA; the coastal communities at KALA and KAHO; the subalpine shrublands of HAVO and HALE; the limestone forest of WAPA; and the mangrove forest at AMME.

Brief Monitoring Questions & Objectives
Question: What are the status and long term trends in plant community composition and structure in focal communities identified by PACN Network parks?

Objective: Determine the status and trends in plant community composition and structure at five-year intervals in five focal plant communities identified at PACN parks.  Specifically, plant community composition and structure will be measured in terms of vascular plant species diversity, cover (at two different structural layers), density (of woody species by height or size class) and frequency.

Vital Sign Monitoring Status & Trends
The Focal Terrestrial Plant Communities monitoring protocol is in development. It has been reviewed by the individual parks and is scheduled to enter into peer review soon.

• Protocol Documents (in development)

Education and Outreach:

• Terrestrial Plant Communities Resource Brief
• Focal Terrestrial Plant Communities Monitoring Movie – Coming Soon!
• Focal Terrestrial Plant Communities Monitoring Photo Gallery - Coming Soon!

Pacific Island Network parks possess abundant and diverse plant life. On close inspection, several plant communities can be identified in this photo taken at Haleakala National Park

Contact Information
I&M Lead:
Alison Ainsworth
Botanist, Pacific Islands Network I&M
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, HI 96718
alison_ainsworth <at> nps.gov

Principal Investigators:
Dr. Jim Jacobi
US Geological Survey
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, HI 96718
jim_jacobi <at> usgs.gov

Dr. Rhonda Loh
National Park Service
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, HI 96718
rhonda_loh <at> nps.gov

Steve Anderson
National Park Service
Haleakala National Park, HI 96768
stephen_j_anderson <at> nps.gov