Effects of non-native grasses on a dry subalpine forest native to Hawaii and a discussion of effects of canopy on understory productivity
- Author:
-
Williams, Ann C.
- Title:
- Effects of non-native grasses on a dry subalpine forest native to Hawaii and a discussion of effects of canopy on understory productivity
- Periodical:
- Biology
- Year:
- 1994
- Volume:
- M.A.
- Subject:
-
Alien plants
Grasses
Mamane
Sophora chrysophylla
Subalpine forests
- Summary:
- The effects of non-native grasses, which are now the dominant understory vegetation of Sophora chrysophylla forests of Hawaii is addressed in this document. It appears that the S. chrysophylla is facilitating, or at least promoting, the alien grass species in the ecosystem by providing a high nutrient environment in its understory, and that the germination of this grass is suppressed in the dense alien grass understory of the S. chrysophylla trees. It also seems that the number of seedlings near standing dead trees is lower than expected, (a possible result of the high biomass of introduced species), and that the forests have been severely damaged and possibly endangered due to human activities and the grazing of domestic and feral animals in the Hawaiian forests. As a result, the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve on the Island of Hawaii, have taken steps to protect the forest though exotic grasses may pose a continuing danger to the ecosystem. This study addresses the effect that trees and shrubs have on the overall forage production of the understory vegetation and the species composition between canopied and uncanopied sub-habitats.
- Date:
- 1994
- Collection:
- Monographs