RESTORATION OF HAWAIIAN TROPICAL DRY FORESTS: A BIOCULTURAL APPROACH A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN BOTANY (CONSERVATION BIOLOGY) MAY 2020 By Aimee Y. Sato Thesis Committee: Tamara Ticktin, Chairperson Christian P. Giardina Rakan A. Zahawi Kewords: Tropical Dry Forest, Biocultural, Conservation, Restoration, Natural Regeneration, Social-Ecological 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank my graduate committee for steering and guiding me through my thesis work. Dr. Tamara Ticktin, my thesis advisor who has been the greatest kumu (teacher) that I could have asked for in my research. I also thank my two committee members, Dr. Rakan A. Zahawi and Dr. Christian P. Giardina, who both brought their expansive levels of expertise to help develop this thesis. Thank you so much to the hoaʻāina (caretakers/restoration managers) of my two project sites. I thank the hoaʻāina of Kaʻūpūlehu, ‘Aunty’ Yvonne Carter, ‘Uncle’ Keoki Carter, Wilds Brawner, Kekaulike Tomich, Lehua Alapai, Kuʻulei Keakealani, and ‘Aunty’ Hannah Kihalani Springer. Thank you to the hoaʻāina of Auwahi, Art Medeiros, Erica von-Allmen, Ainoa and Kalaʻau Kaiaokamalie, Amy Campbell, Andy Bieber, Robert Pitts, and Kailie Aina. I would also like to acknowledge Kamehameha Schools and the Ulupalakua Ranch for allowing me to conduct this research on their lands. Thank you to the dry forest restoration managers and researchers that participated in the overview survey of Hawaiian dry forests. On Oʻahu Island: Lorena ‘Tap’ Wada, James Harmon and Kapua Kawelo. On Hawaiʻi Island: Elliott Parsons, Rebecca Most, Lena Schnell, Kalā Asing, Jen Lawson, and Susan Cordell. I would like to thank the Ticktin lab, past and present lab members, for being the most supportive lab I could imagine (Smrity Ramavarapu, Julia Douglas, Miles Thomas, Lauren Nerfa, Ashley McGuigan, Zoe Hastings, Reko Libby, Georgia Fredeluces-Hart, Gioconda Lopez Vargas, Katie Kamelamela, Natalie Kurashima, and Rachel Dacks). A special mahalo to Reko Libby and Natalie Kurashima as this long-term collaborative work with Kaʻūpūlehu and the Ticktin lab would not have been possible without both of their previous work. I would also like to thank Maile Wong for assisting with field work at Kaʻūpūlehu. Funding provided by the Beatrice Krauss Fellowship was very helpful in covering research costs. My fellowship with the Hauʻoli Mau Loa Foundation was essential for my graduate school experience, and I am extremely thankful to the Foundation for funding my tuition, for providing me a substantial stipend to allow me to concentrate on my studies, and lastly for providing me with professional development funds to assist me with my research costs as well as investing in my professional development training. Thank you Hauʻoli Mau Loa for believing and investing in local Hawaiʻi students to pursue higher education and become leaders in our home, Hawaiʻi. And last but not least, thank you to my friends and family for supporting me every step of the way. My mom and sister who have been the greatest role models for me. My pillar of support, Phillip Kapu, for taking any role to help me to the finish line. And a special thank you to my two Hālau (Hawaiian School of Learning) families. Nā Hula O Kaohikūkapulani and my kumu, Kapu Kinimaka Alquiza for teaching me Hula and raising me around Hawaiian culture. My family of Hālau ʻŌhiʻa, including my kumu, Kekuhi Kealiikanakaoleohaililani, who has provided me the fertilizer that I needed to grow stronger, and my fellow Hālau members that have become my sisters and brothers who inspire me always. Mahalo. 2 ABSTRACT Worldwide, tropical dry forests are among the most endangered of all tropical forest ecosystems, and tropical dry forests once represented the greatest species diversity among forest types in Hawaiʻi. Current research shows that the extent of native tropical dry forest cover in Hawaiʻi may be as low as 1% of its original cover, with 45% of the tropical dry forest plant species at risk of endangerment. Despite the historical and current relationship of these forests with the wao kanaka (lower elevation human settlement zones), there has been little evaluation on the social-ecological outcomes of a biocultural approach to tropical dry forest restoration. Two forest restoration projects located within Kaʻūpūlehu and Auwahi, have excluded ungulates and removed alien plant species, and have used biocultural approaches to restoration. Drawing on these two sites as case-studies, this thesis discusses the motivations for, and components of a biocultural approach, provides a measure of the ecological success using a case-study of biocultural restoration at Kaʻūpūlehu, and includes an assessment on the status of tropical dry forest restoration projects across Hawaiʻi. This multidisciplinary study shows that the ecological success of the forest is directly interlinked with the social benefits of restoration, and I recommend that conservation and restoration efforts in Hawaiʻi should foster and recognize the continued relationship between the kaiaulu (human community) and kaiaola (ecosystem) of tropical dry forests. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ 2 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................ 4 LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... 8 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ 9 LIST OF APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................................. 12 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 12 Study Sites ............................................................................................................................. 17 Auwahi TDF ...................................................................................................................... 17 Kaʻūpūlehu TDF ................................................................................................................ 18 MATERIALS AND METHODS .............................................................................................. 19 Hoaʻāina (Caretakers/Restoration Managers) Analyses ........................................................ 19 Kaiaulu (Human community) Analyses ................................................................................ 20 RESULTS.................................................................................................................................. 22 Personal Relationship to Place .............................................................................................. 22 Hoaʻāina Perspectives ........................................................................................................ 22 Kaiaulu Perspectives .......................................................................................................... 26 Defining Biocultural .............................................................................................................. 27 Hoaʻāina Perspectives ........................................................................................................ 27 Biocultural Measures of Success ........................................................................................... 33 Hoaʻāina Perspectives ........................................................................................................ 33 Impacts of Biocultural Restoration on Kaiaulu ..................................................................... 39 4 Kaiaulu Perspectives .......................................................................................................... 39 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................... 42 Restoring the Relationships of Kaiaola (Ecosystem) and Kaiaulu (Community) ................. 43 Biocultural Includes Nā Mea Āpau (Everything) .................................................................. 45 Challenges with a Biocultural Approach ............................................................................... 47 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 49 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................................. 50 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 50 MATERIALS AND METHODS .............................................................................................. 52 Monitoring Recruitment and Survival ................................................................................... 52 Mapping Ecological Recruitment to Analyze