Biomes - Keynote pdf
Biodiversity of Hawaii's Terrestrial Ecosystems
The terrestrial ecosystems in Hawaii are far more diverse than the commonly
held vision of simply palm trees and sand.
The terrestrial biodiversity rivals the richness of the continents.
Hawaii's terrestrial ecosystems include:
The three most important factors control the type of ecosystem that forms:
The primary climatic factor is the Northeast Trade Winds, which determine the precipitation available to each region of the islands.
About 150 distinct communities of organisms have been identified in Hawaii's aquatic, subterranean, and terrestrial environments.
The classification of terrestrial ecosystems is based on
Five elevation zones:
For each elevation zone three general moisture categories are recognized:
Several dominant plant and vegetative structures are recognized:
A forests canopy is more dense, 60-100% cover, whereas a woodland
is more open, 10-60% cover.
Shrublands are distinguished by branched shrubs >1 m
in height.
Dwarf shrublands has a canopy height of 1 m or less.
Herblands are composed of small, nonwoody plants.
Deserts receive < 50 cm/yr of precipitation and are sparsely vegetated.
Terrestrial
ecosystems commonly are named for their dominant species, e.g. Ohi'a rainforest.
Anthropogenic modification and the introduction of
alien species resulted in the nearly complete loss
of native
coastal, lowland
dry, and mesic
ecosystems.
Whereas the native montane, subalpine, and alpine ecosystems
mostly are intact.
These regions are considered windows to the past and
are biological treasures to be protected.
The notes for the final exam are continued in Voyaging