In areas where exotic species invasions are pervasive and these invaders become dominant, such as in oceanic islands like Hawaii, the original native ecosystems are being systematically and irrevocably transformed to new states. A key question is whether the ecosystem services will be impaired or otherwise altered by such transformations in the balance of species. The proposed research will measure the production and storage of carbon, services critical to the maintenance of the global carbon cycle, by heavily invaded forest ecosystems on Hawaii. The goal of the research is to determine the extent to which production and carbon storage may be altered and to better understand the mechanisms responsible for any changes in these ecosystem services. Hawaii provides a model system to examine ecosystems with a long history of human influence, including extensive invasion of exotic species.
This research will significantly improve our ability to adapt management needs to the rapidly changing environmental conditions imposed by invasive exotic species. This is a situation that will likely be very prevalent in the 21st century. The research will also provide training and research opportunities for undergraduate students at universities in Wisconsin and Hawaii. Furthermore, investigators on this project will work directly with the US Forest Service, informing forest managers of the status of invasive species on Hawaii and implications of changes in these forest ecosystems.
