Facilitating Adaptation in Montane Plants to Changing Precipitation

Completion date July 01, 2016
Mauna Kea from Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge  (Credit: Noah Kahn, USFWS)
Mauna Kea from Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge (Credit: Noah Kahn, USFWS)

Location: The Islands of Hawai‘i

Can moving montane plants higher help ecosystems adapt to climate change?

This project aims to determine how the survival and growth of native Hawaiian montane plant species are affected by the precipitation patterns at a range of planting locations. By relocating the plants to potentially more favorable climates at higher elevations and monitoring growth, survival, and vigor over a two-year period, this project evaluates a potential restoration strategy for mountain parklands of Mauna Kea on the island of Hawai‘i.

Project Partners:

Pacific Islands Ecosystems Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Conservation Partnerships

Mauna Kea Watershed Alliance

Forestry and Natural Resources, Land Management Division, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands