Year:
2017
Publication type:
Miscellaneous
Primary Station(s):
Pacific Southwest Research Station
Source:
U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1834. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. 134 p.
Description
Hawaii is unique among the United States because of its tropical climate, geographic isolation, high rates of species endemism and discontinuous land mass. The year-round warm, wet climate on the windward sides of islands and the high fertility of relatively young volcanically derived soils are ideal conditions for carbon input, storage and carbon sequestration in ecosystems of the main Hawaiian Islands. A number of plot- and stand-level studies examining the physical and biological controls over tropical ecosystem carbon storage and flux provide evidence of the high carbon sequestration capacity of Hawaiian terrestrial ecosystems with a focus on soils, live biomass and plant productivity. However, there have been relatively few regional to island-wide studies examining the biotic and environmental controls on aboveground carbon density, and no island- to statewide estimates of carbon fluxes and net carbon balance for ecosystems of the Hawaiian Islands. The goal of this report is to provide robust baseline estimates of carbon storage and flux across the Hawaiian Islands based on the best available data, and to then use this baseline data as input to predict how carbon cycling and storage may respond to projected future changes in climate, land use, land cover and disturbance.
Executive Summary—Baseline and projected future carbon storage and carbon fluxes in ecosystems of Hawai‘i
Scope and methodology
Baseline land cover
Projecting end-of-century shifts in the spatial pattern of plant-available water across Hawai‘i to assess implications to vegetation shifts
Influence of invasive species on carbon storage in Hawai‘i's ecosystems
Wildland fires and greenhouse gas emissions in Hawai‘i
Baseline carbon storage and carbon fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems of Hawai‘i
Baseline and projected future aquatic carbon fluxes to nearshore waters in Hawai‘i
Projected future carbon storage and carbon fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems of Hawai‘i from changes in climate, land use, and disturbance
Hawai‘i carbon balance
Keywords
Citation
Selmants, P.C.; Giardina, C.P.; Jacobi, J.D.; Zhu, Zhiliang, eds. 2017. Baseline and projected future carbon storage and carbon fluxes in ecosystems of Hawai‘i. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1834. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. 134 p.