Life Sciences Commons^™

Understory Succession Following A Dieback Of Myrica Faya In Hawai’I Volcanoes National Park, Peter B. Adler, Carla M. D'Antonio, J. Timtohy Tunison

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Studies of invasion by the introduced nitrogen-fixing tree Myrica faya Aiton in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park have led to predictions that the nitrogen-rich soil M. faya creates will promote invasion by nonindigenous plant species. An insect-caused dieback of M. faya that began in the late 1980s provides an opportunity to test this hypothesis. We compared· percentage cover and density of all plant species under live and dead M. faya, as well as total nitrogen in soil and plant tissue. Mean percentage cover of four common species increased significantly, and no species decreased in cover after dieback. Cover of native …