Fire Effects in the Coastal Lowlands Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Tunison JT, Leialoha JA, Loh RL, Pratt LW, Higashino P. 1994. Fire Effects in the Coastal Lowlands Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit Technical Report Series. CPSU Technical Report 88. Cooperative National Park Resource Studies Unit, University of Hawaii at Manoa. Honolulu, HI
Fire effects were studied in 13 sites within five lava or lighning caused burns occurring between 1985 and 1989. The study sites were located in five major plant communities and two ecotones. Grasslands characterized the vegetation of the central coastal lowland sites, and lowland scrub with native shrub overstory and alien grass understory characterized the sites in the eastern lowlands. Cover was determined by point-intercept methods along unreplicated transects established prior to fire or by replicated burned and unburned pairs of transects established prior to the fire or by replicated burned and unburned pairs of transects. Density of shrubs was determined in plots along the paired transects. Frequency of resprouting of woody plants was determined by monitoring individual plants for one year. Alien grass cover did not increase in most sites, and total native cover usually increased or remained the same. In the eastern coastal lowlands, fire characteristically stimulated the spread of Waltheria indica, Heteropogon contortus, Dodonaea viscosa, and Osteomeles anthyllidifolia. Fire depleted the tall native shrub component by nearly eliminating Wikstroemia sandwicensis. Waltheria and Heteropogon generally were also stimulated in the central lowlands but not sufficiently to increase total native plant cover in most sites. These findings lead to the conclusions that the Park's policy of total fire suppression should continue to protect the native shrub component of the rare Wikstroemia shrubland, allow natural recolonization of the central grasslands by native trees and shrubs, and prevent the spread of the disruptive fire-stimulated Melinis and Hyparrhenia. However, a juducious use of prescribed buring, on an experimental basis, may be useful in establishing fuel breaks and stimulating the recovery of native plants such as Heteropogon and Dodonaea.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Tunison, J; Leialoha, J; Loh, R; Pratt, L; Higashino, PK
- Date of Issue
- 1994-04
- Publisher
- Cooperative National Park Resource Studies Unit, University of Hawaii at Manoa
- Units
- HAVO , KAHO
- Keywords
- coastal lowlands, Dodonaea viscosa, FIRE, Fire Effects, Fire Suppression, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Heteropogon contortus, Hyparrhenia, Melinis, Osteomeles anthyllidifolia, Prescribed Burn, Vegetation, Waltheria indica, Wikstroemia sandwicensis