The Hawaiian tropical dry forests are a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Hawaiian Islands. They cover an area of 6,600 km2 (2,500 sq mi) on the leeward side of the main islands and the summits of Ni?ihau and Kaho?olawe. These forests are either seasonal or sclerophyllous. Annual rainfall is less than 127 cm (50 in) and may be as low as 25 cm (9.8 in); the rainy season lasts from November to March. Dominant tree species include koa (Acacia koa), koai?a (A. koaia), ?akoko (Euphorbia spp.), ??hi?a lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha), lonomea (Sapindus oahuensis), m?mane (Sophora chrysophylla), loulu (Pritchardia spp.), lama (Diospyros sandwicensis), olopua (Nestegis sandwicensis), wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicensis), and ?iliahi (Santalum spp.). Endemic plant species in the dry forests include hau hele?ula (Kokia cookei), uhiuhi (Caesalpinia kavaiensis), and Gouania spp. The palila (Loxioides bailleui), a Hawaiian honeycreeper, is restricted to this type of habitat.
Video Hawaiian tropical dry forests
Prehistoric dry forests
The plant composition of Hawaii's dry forests has changed rather dramatically since the arrival of Polynesians, excluding the deliberate introduction of non-native species. Fossilized pollen has shown that loulu (Pritchardia spp.) forests with an understory of Ka palupalu o Kanaloa (Kanaloa kahoolawensis) and ?a?ali?i (Dodonaea viscosa) existed on the islands' leeward lowlands from at least before 1210 B.C. until 1565 A.D. Populations of loulu and ?a?ali?i still exist in diminished form, while only two Ka palupalu o Kanaloa specimens have ever been seen in the wild.
Maps Hawaiian tropical dry forests
Maui
The Auwahi Dryland Forest Restoration Project has produced a substantial forest on the slopes of Haleakala on the island of Maui.
See also
- Oceania ecozone
- Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests
- Hawaiian tropical rainforests
- Hawaiian tropical low shrublands
- Hawaiian tropical high shrublands
- List of ecoregions in the United States (WWF)
References
External links
- Medeiros, A. C.; C.F. Davenport; C.G. Chimera (1998). "Auwahi: Ethnobotany of a Hawaiian Dryland Forest" (PDF). Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, University of Hawai?i at M?noa.
Source of article : Wikipedia
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