Gathering Gis Data to Inform Development and Planning in the Rainforest and Protect Natural and Historic Features
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ABSTRACT SUSTAINABLE COFFEE FARMING IN HAWAI’I: GATHERING GIS DATA TO INFORM DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING IN THE RAINFOREST AND PROTECT NATURAL AND HISTORIC FEATURES by Connor Evan O’Hearn Abstract: This report describes the internship experience in Kona, Hawai’i working with Monarch Coffee. This involved the collection of 81 soil samples, and geospatial data on the locations of natural and human made features. This data collection and analysis was for the purpose of building a Map Book. The 122 acres of land were sectioned into 27 individual rectangular segments to make the gathering of data more uniform. Soil samples and other spatial information was taken throughout each section. Due to the size of the property, it was important to divide it into more manageable focus areas that would allow for a high level of detail in the analysis. Ultimately, the resulting maps will help in sustainable and efficient land development while conserving the natural landmarks and ecosystem. This project took place in the summer of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This limited the data collection team to one person and has caused various delays in the economy and industry in Hawai’i. Additionally, the spread of Coffee Leaf Rust to the state of Hawai’i and the Big Island in 2020 raises new concerns about the coffee industry and the plans for the development of this property. SUSTAINABLE COFFEE FARMING IN HAWAI’I: GATHERING GIS DATA TO INFORM DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING IN THE RAINFOREST AND PROTECT NATURAL AND HISTORIC FEATURES An Internship Report Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by Connor Evan O’Hearn Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2021 Advisor: Dr. Jessica McCarty Reader: Dr. Mary Henry Reader: Robbyn Abbitt ©2021 Connor Evan O’Hearn This Internship Report titled SUSTAINABLE COFFEE FARMING IN HAWAI’I: GATHERING GIS DATA TO INFORM DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING IN THE RAINFOREST AND PROTECT NATURAL AND HISTORIC FEATURES by Connor Evan O’Hearn has been approved for publication by The College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Geography ____________________________________________________ Dr. Jessica McCarty ______________________________________________________ Dr. Mary Henry _______________________________________________________ Robbyn Abbitt Table of Contents Dedication . v Acknowledgements . vi Introduction . 1 Research Questions . 5 Internship Background . 6 More on Monarch Coffee . 7 A Review of Relevant Literature Environmental Factors . 9 Biodiversity & Biocontrol . 9 GIS in Agriculture . 12 Project Goals . 13 Methods Study Area . 15 2012 Historical Survey . 17 Collection & Analysis . 19 Data . 19 Field Tools . 20 Data Collection & Analysis Tools . 21 Use of Smartphone . 23 Soil Sample Handling . 25 Map Book Creation . 26 Results Important Note . 26 Research Answers . 27 Map Book . 28 Discussion . 28 Conclusion . 29 iii List of Figures Figure 1: Arriving in Kona . v Figure 2: Coffee belt . 2 Figure 3: CBB . 4 Figure 4: CLR . 4 Figure 5: Study area location . .. 8 Figure 6: A. conyzoides . 10 Figure 7: S. nodiflora . 10 Figure 8: A. pintoi . 11 Figure 9: Grid reference system developed for Papa 122 . 14 Figure 10: Rainfall . 10 Figure 11: Papa 122 mapped roads . 16 Figure 12: Historical sites & lava flows . 18 Figure 13: Machete & cane axe . 21 Figure 14: 4x4 on the path . 22 Figure 15: Gear & pickaxe . 22 Figure 16: The truck named “Billy” . 23 Figure 17: Navigating to point . 24 Figure 18: Sections & waypoints . 24 Figure 19: Sampling route . 24 Figure 20: Soil samples drying . 25 Figure 21: Shipping samples . 26 iv Dedication I would like to dedicate this project to my parents and my sister. Without them I would not be able to take part in a program like this. More than anyone in my life, they push me to achieve my goals by setting the bar extremely high in the goals that they achieve themselves. It is a blessing to have such talented and intelligent people in my corner. Figure 1: Arriving in Kona. v Acknowledgements I have many people to thank for making this project possible. First, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. McCarty, for trusting me and assisting me in my return to Miami University. I was not a typical student, but it all worked out well! Thank you to my committee members, Robbyn Abbitt and Dr. Mary Henry, who helped and encouraged me throughout this project. I would not have learned this much without you. Thank you to all the professors and fellow students at Miami who have helped me through this program and project. Thank you to my Monarch Coffee family for welcoming me into their lives. I am lucky to have you and am happy to have Hawai’i be another place I can call home. Thank you to Sigma Chi, the alumni, Dr. Bertz and the undergraduate chapter. While in graduate school I had the opportunity to serve the undergraduate chapter as their advisor. It has been a wonderful experience and I am lucky to have over 100 younger brothers to push me to succeed. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family and friends for their support. I am fortunate to have a global network of people that I can always count on. vi Introduction: Coffee has been grown in Hawai’i for over 200 years after first arriving on the islands in the 1800s. Various stories recount how explorers and royalty alike brought coffee to Hawai’i. Chief Boki delivered coffee plants from Brazil in 1825; these were the first successful plantings on the islands (Hawaii Coffee Association, 2020). The most common varietal, Kona Typica, arrived on the islands from Guatemala in the 1880s. However, it would take one-hundred years before coffee became a major crop. In the 1980s, as sugar farms were being removed from the Big Island due to the cost associated with labor, coffee would often take the place of sugar as the crop to grow. Coffee is now a major crop for Hawai’i ranking fourth in land devoted to it and fifth in overall value (Hawaii Coffee Association). Over 8,000 acres in Hawai’i are used for the cultivation and production of coffee, with about 95% of that located on the Big Island of Hawai’i (Steiman, 2019). Farms on the Big Island range from small, low acreage family farms to large, relatively high-tech operations that farm hundreds of acres. This all amounts to an annual total revenue of about $86 million dollars for the Hawai’ian coffee industry (Steiman, 2019). Growing conditions in Kona have proven to be an ideal mixture of nutrient dense volcanic rock, sunny mornings, and misty wet afternoons. This area is known as the ‘Kona Coffee Belt’, seen in Figure 2, and is located along the western coast of the Big Island between 500 and 3200 feet in elevation (Steiman, 2019). This is the sweet spot for coffee in the region. Despite this robust growing environment, coffee farmers in Kona have been faced with challenges. These farmers have worked through issues with engineering, cup quality, customer acquisition, and production, all while refining their craft over the years. Pests and disease have also presented challenges. Various beetles, moths and fungi have endangered the life of their coffee trees. Despite these challenges, with the help of scientists and agricultural extension at the University of Hawai’i, coffee farmers have been able to see the highest yields per acre in the world (Steiman, 2019). 1 Figure 2: Coffee Belt. (Map from [Home to Kona Coffee, 2017], scale bar created in Google Earth Pro as original map did not indicate scale and should be considered approximate). In 2010, a beetle made its way to Hawai’i and Kailua-Kona coffee farmers. It is uncertain how Coffee Berry Borer (Hypothenemus hampai; CBB) made it to the islands, but there are a few theories. The Hawai’ian Haplotype, or gene makeup, can be traced to CBB that is found in Africa (Chapman, et al., 2015). This African CBB is known to have made its way to South America. From there, it was either brought into Hawai’i illegally or was accidentally transported to Hawai’i via seeds that were on the clothes or luggage of workers coming to pick cherries on the islands (Chapman, et al., 2015). Whether this was a deliberate act of bringing in tainted coffee illegally, or a failure of the agriculture safeguards that are in place to keep these things from happening, CBB is now a problem that all the farmers in Hawai’i must face. The CBB bores holes into the coffee cherries to lay eggs (Figure 3). When unmitigated, CBB can 2 take over the entire coffee field and render the cherries useless. CBB is a beetle that has infested an average of 20% of coffee cherries in Hawai’i (Aristizábal, et al., 2017). A new threat to coffee production arrived in Hawai’i during this project. In November of 2020, the Department of Agriculture for the state of Hawai’i confirmed that Coffee Leaf Rust (Helilia vastatrix; CLR) had been found (HDOA 2020). While CLR (Figure 4) is not new to the coffee industry, it is new to Hawai’i and will only add to the complexity of managing a coffee farm. While CLR does not attack and make the coffee cherries its home,.