Inventory of Vascular Plants of the Kahuku Addition, Hawai`I Volcanoes National Park

PACIFIC COOPERATIVE STUDIES UNIT UNIVERSITY OF HAWAIÌ AT MĀNOA David C. Duffy, Unit Leader Department of Botany 3190 Maile Way, St. John #408 Honolulu, Hawai’i 96822 Technical Report 157 INVENTORY OF VASCULAR PLANTS OF THE KAHUKU ADDITION, HAWAIÌ VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK June 2008 David M. Benitez1, Thomas Belfield1, Rhonda Loh2, Linda Pratt3 and Andrew D. Christie1 1 Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit (University of Hawaiì at Mānoa), Hawaiì Volcanoes National Park, Resources Management Division, PO Box 52, Hawaiì National Park, HI 96718 2 National Park Service, Hawaiì Volcanoes National Park, Resources Management Division, PO Box 52, Hawaiì National Park, HI 96718 3 U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, PO Box 44, Hawaiì National Park, HI 96718 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................1 THE SURVEY AREA ........................................................................................................2 Recent History- Ranching and Resource Extraction .....................................................3 Recent History- Introduced Ungulates...........................................................................4 Climate ..........................................................................................................................4 Geology and Soils .........................................................................................................6 Previous Vegetation Mapping........................................................................................9 METHODS ......................................................................................................................10 Sampling Design .........................................................................................................10 Data Collection ............................................................................................................12 Data Analysis and Data Management .........................................................................15 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION........................................................................................16 Vascular Plant Checklist..............................................................................................16 Vegetation Descriptions...............................................................................................17 Invasive Alien Plant Species .......................................................................................24 Invasive Alien Plant Species: Trees ............................................................................25 Invasive Alien Plant Species: Shrubs ..........................................................................31 Invasive Alien Plant Species: Herbs and Vines...........................................................35 Invasive Alien Plant Species: Ferns ............................................................................44 Invasive Alien Plant Species: Grasses ........................................................................44 Management Considerations for Invasive Alien Plant Species at Kahuku ..................50 Rare Native Plant Species...........................................................................................52 Rare Native Plants: Endangered Species ...................................................................54 Rare Native Plants: Candidate Endangered Species..................................................56 Rare Native Plants: Threatened Species ....................................................................57 Rare Native Plants: Species of Concern .....................................................................57 Uncommon and Rare Plant Species ...........................................................................59 Historical Records of Rare Plants at Kahuku ..............................................................66 Discussion of Rare Native Plants at Kahuku ...............................................................67 Management Considerations for Rare Native Plant Species ......................................69 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..................................................................................................71 LITERATURE CITED......................................................................................................72 APPENDIX A. Checklist of Vascular Plants of the Kahuku Addition, Hawaiì Volcanoes National Park...................................................................................................................78 APPENDIX B. Historical Records of Vascular Plants Previously Collected in Kahuku Not Found During Recent Surveys......................................................................................113 APPENDIX C. Invasive Alien Plants Encroaching on Kahuku ......................................115 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Kahuku addition to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park ...........................3 Figure 2. Wind patterns on Hawai’i Island............................................................5 Figure 3. Median annual rainfall in the Kahuku addition ......................................6 Figure 4. Recent Lava Flows in the Kahuku addition...........................................7 Figure 5. Geological age of substrates by percent area, Kahuku addition...........8 Figure 6. Soil type coverage by percent area, Kahuku addition...........................9 Figure 7. Distribution of vegetation survey transects in the Kahuku addition .....10 Figure 8. Distribution of vegetation survey regions in the Kahuku addition........11 Figure 9. Locations of rare plants in the Kahuku addition ..................................54 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Pre-survey list of invasive alien weeds targeted for monitoring in the Kahuku addition ..................................................................................13 Table 2. Summary of vascular plant taxa of the Kahuku addition ......................17 iii ABSTRACT In 2003, the National Park Service acquired 46,943 ha of Kahuku Ranch, in the Ka’ū district of Hawaiì. This addition to Hawaiì Volcanoes National Park includes a diverse assemblage of vegetation communities. No recent vegetation inventories existed, and since the last vegetation map had been created many vegetation types within the former ranch had undergone changes due to grazing pressure, logging and fire. As a result, little was known about the communities and their floristic composition, and appropriate management practices could not be developed. Surveys conducted between 2004 and 2006 in Kahuku described vegetation communities and located rare, threatened and endangered plants, as well as disruptive alien weeds. Forty-one kilometers of transects and 177 vegetation plots were ground-surveyed, and 6.5 hours of helicopter surveys were conducted. Surveys encountered a total flora of 455 vascular plant species, of which 40% were native. Five endangered, one threatened, one candidate endangered, and seven species of concern were found, as well as 26 locally rare native species. Forty-three disruptive alien plant taxa in and near Kahuku were mapped. Several sites containing high numbers of either rare or invasive plants were identified. Information from this inventory allows managers to identify priority areas of alien plant and ungulate control and rare plant recovery, and serves as a baseline to document future changes in the vegetation. Results from this study will also enable managers to develop a framework for long-term management priorities and strategies in Kahuku. INTRODUCTION The Kahuku Ranch was acquired by the National Park Service (NPS) on July 6 2003 as an addition to Hawaiì Volcanoes National Park (HAVO). This 46,943-ha acquisition expanded the federally protected lands within HAVO by nearly 50%, to 134,760 ha (National Park Service 2003), and added to the park native montane forests, a vast expanse of subalpine shrublands, pioneer communities, important cultural resources, and unique geological features. Much of the vegetation in Kahuku has been impacted since the arrival nearly 1,600 ybp (years before present) of Polynesian settlers (Kirch 1985), who cleared lands and introduced plant and animal species for subsistence agriculture. Over the past 200 years, these impacts have accelerated, and the areas below 1,500 m elevation have been extensively modified by cattle ranching, logging, and introduced plant and animal species. The clearing of forests for pastures and the introduction of forage species continued until the late 1980s (Avery 2006). The land management practices at Kahuku are not unique within Hawai’i; throughout the islands, 50% of the land area is used for cattle pastures, 30% consists of plantations and urban areas, and 20% is covered by native and non-native plant communities (Gagné and Cuddihy 1999). Logging has also impacted the Kahuku landscape. Within the last sixty years, extraction of koa from forests at Kahuku has left a legacy of large stumps and skid roads wherever this activity took place. More recently, Damon Estate, the last private landowner of Kahuku, hired contractors to harvest koa (Acacia koa), `ōhià (Metrosideros polymorpha) and sandalwood (Santalum paniculatum) in the late 1980s and 1990s (Avery 2006). 1 Ungulate grazers, particularly

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