Established Invasive Plant Species Monitoring Hawai‘I Volcanoes National Park
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National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Established Invasive Plant Species Monitoring Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Natural Resource Report NPS/PACN/NRR—2016/1202 ON THE COVER Former wet forest in Kahuku, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Photograph by Inventory & Monitoring Vegetation Crew, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Established Invasive Plant Species Monitoring Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Natural Resource Report NPS/PACN/NRR—2016/1202 Melissa J. Simon, Jacob Gross, and Alison Ainsworth National Park Service Pacific Island Network – Inventory & Monitoring Program PO Box 52 Hawai‘i National Park, HI 96718 April 2016 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado, publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics. These reports are of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Report Series is used to disseminate comprehensive information and analysis about natural resources and related topics concerning lands managed by the National Park Service. The series supports the advancement of science, informed decision-making, and the achievement of the National Park Service mission. The series also provides a forum for presenting more lengthy results that may not be accepted by publications with page limitations. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. This report received formal peer review by subject-matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data, and whose background and expertise put them on par technically and scientifically with the authors of the information. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U.S. Government. This report is available in digital format from NPS Inventory and Monitoring, Pacific Island Network website (http://science.nature.nps.gov/IM/units/pacn/index.cfm), and the Natural Resource Publications Management website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/nrpm/). To receive this report in a format optimized for screen readers, please email [email protected]. Please cite this publication as: Simon, M., J. Gross, and A. Ainsworth. 2016. Established invasive plant species monitoring: Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Natural Resource Report NPS/PACN/NRR—2016/1202. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 124/132348, April 2016 ii Contents Page Figures.................................................................................................................................................... v Tables ................................................................................................................................................... vii Appendices ........................................................................................................................................... vii Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. ix Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................. xi Acronyms .............................................................................................................................................. xi Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Methods .................................................................................................................................................. 3 Study Sites ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Wet Forest ................................................................................................................................. 4 Subalpine Shrubland .................................................................................................................. 8 Non-native Plant Sampling........................................................................................................... 11 Data Analysis................................................................................................................................ 12 Non-native Species Richness .................................................................................................. 12 Non-native Frequency ............................................................................................................. 12 Non-native Cover .................................................................................................................... 12 Results .................................................................................................................................................. 15 Non-native Species Richness ....................................................................................................... 15 Non-Native Frequency and Cover ................................................................................................ 22 Wet Forest ............................................................................................................................... 23 Nāhuku/East Rift ..................................................................................................................... 25 ʻŌlaʻa ....................................................................................................................................... 26 Kahuku WF ............................................................................................................................. 28 Subalpine Shrubland ................................................................................................................ 31 Discussion ............................................................................................................................................ 33 Wet Forest .................................................................................................................................... 33 Nāhuku/East Rift ..................................................................................................................... 33 ʻŌla‘a ....................................................................................................................................... 34 iii Contents (continued) Page Kahuku WF ............................................................................................................................. 35 Subalpine Shrubland ..................................................................................................................... 36 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................... 39 Recommendations ................................................................................................................................ 39 Literature Cited .................................................................................................................................... 41 iv Figures Page Figure 1. Hierarchy of the EIPS sampling locations for HAVO ........................................................... 3 Figure 2. Nāhuku/East Rift sampling frame of HAVO wet forest plant community............................ 5 Figure 3. ʻŌlaʻa sampling frame of HAVO wet forest plant community. Points represent start locations of sampled transects (1000 m). ....................................................................................... 7 Figure 4. Kahuku WF sampling frame of HAVO wet forest community. Points represent start locations of sampled transects (250 m). ......................................................................................... 8 Figure 5. Subalpine shrubland sampling frame of HAVO. Points represent start locations of sampled transect (500 m). ................................................................................................................ 10 Figure 6. Species accumulation curves (sample-based rarefaction and extrapolation) and associated 95% confidence intervals for the two plant communities monitored at HAVO ................. 20 Figure 7. Species accumulation curves (sample-based rarefaction and extrapolation) and associated 95% confidence intervals for the two plant communities monitored at HAVO ................. 20 Figure 8. Species accumulation curves (sample-based rarefaction and extrapolation) and associated 95% confidence intervals for the three sampling frames within the wet forest plant community .................................................................................................................................