Author: Mueller-Dombois, D.

Source: Journal of Vegetation Science, Volume 17, Number 5, October 2006 , pp. 685-692(8)

Publisher: Opulus Press

Abstract:

Because of their isolation and geographical position, and in contrast to the multi-species tree canopies of tropical rain forests on the continents, the Hawaiian Islands have only two native dominant canopy species in their rain forests, Acacia koa and Metrosideros polymorpha. The wetter forest ecosystems are dominated by only the latter. In 1905, a dieback of lowland tropical Metrosideros rain forest was observed over a 35 km stretch on the lower east slope of Haleakalā Mountain on Maui Island. This was dubbed 'The Maui Forest Trouble.' Although the synchronous decline of so many trees was initially believed to be caused by an epidemic disease, a decade of research yielded no pathogen. The conclusion was that the Hawaiian flora consisted primarily of colonizer species that were unable to continue growing on aging soils. Although this made ecological sense at that time, it was a rather limited and thereby unfortunate conclusion. Further research has shown that the Maui Forest Trouble was a 'bog-formation dieback', a process of vegetation dynamics not only related to soil aging but more broadly to geomorphic aging and fundamental landscape change. This process is clearly a marginal-site syndrome, but a natural process of profound consequence for biological conservation. This will be further explained as a paradigm for vegetation ecology.

Keywords: FOREST DECLINE; FOREST DIEBACK; GEOMORPHIC AGING; LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH; SOIL AGING; SPECIES POOL; LIMITATION; SUCCESSION MODEL

Document Type: Short communication

Publication date: 2006-10-01

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• The Journal of Vegetation Science publishes original articles, short notes and review articles in the field of vegetation science, both methodological and theoretical studies, and descriptive and experimental studies of plant communities and plant populations. The Journal is the Official Organ of the International Association for Vegetation Science (IAVS).
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