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Limited Native Plant Regeneration In Novel, Exotic-Dominated Forests On Hawai’I, Joseph Mascaro, Kristen K. Becklund, R. Flint Hughes, Stefan A. Schnitzer

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Ecological invasions are a major driver of global environmental change. When invasions are frequent and prolonged, exotic species can become dominant and ultimately create novel ecosystem types. These ecosystems are now widespread globally. Recent evidence from Puerto Rico suggests that exotic-dominated forests can provide suitable regeneration sites for native species and promote native species abundance, but this pattern has been little explored elsewhere. We surveyed 46 sites in Hawai’i to determine whether native species occurred in the understories of exotic-dominated forests. Native trees smaller than 10 cm in diameter were absent in 28 of the 46 sites and rare in …