Seminar 24: Using plant functional traits to design forest restoration: an example from Hawaii

Speakers : Professor Rebecca Ostertag| University of Hawaii |

Abstract: Plant functional recently have been suggested to be useful for restoration planning. The Liko Nā Pilina hybrid ecosystem experiment in Hilo, Hawaii, USA employed functional traits to design and test the suitability of different species combinations, using native and introduced (but non-invasive) species to meet the objectives of increased carbon storage, native biodiversity regeneration, and invasion resistance. In this case, restoration to a previous reference condition was not feasible. After the first five years of their development, we evaluated community-level outcomes related to nutrient cycling: carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus via litterfall, litter decomposition, outplant productivity, rates of invasion, and leaf litter arthropod species composition. We found that regardless of treatment, the experimental communities had low rates of nutrient cycling through litterfall relative to the invaded forest. In addition, which treatment did "best" depends on the metric being assessed. This seminar will include a discussion of how hybrid ecosystems represent a paradigm shift, how potential metrics of belonging within an ecosystem may be developed, and how new policies can support these efforts. Although challenges remain, this study provides evidence that functional trait-based restoration approaches to carefully select species and to assess ecosystem functioning can achieve management goals.

Biography: Rebecca (Becky) Ostertag is a professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. She teaches courses in ecology, conservation, biostatistics,and field methods, and has mentored many undergraduate and Masterʻs projects in forest ecology over the last 20 yrs. She studies how forest structure and function, and uses that information for forest restoration in the face of invasive species, climate change, and other threats. The collaborative work on hybrid ecosystems and using functional traits in restoration discussed in this talk phas led to an understanding of the importance of proper restoration planning. Other key work is on the long-term dynamics of Hawaiian forests, that are part of the ForestGeo Network. She is a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America and serves as an Associate editor for the journal Functional Ecology.