Pacific Region RCSD Assessment Worksheet
Use this form to add or update a climate assessment to Piko (Worsheet Version June 2012)
Acronym
Name/Title
Understanding How Climate Change is Affecting Hawaii’s High-elevation Ecosystems: An Assessment of the Long-term Viability of Haleakala Silverswords and Associated Biological Communities
Lead Agencies, Institutions and Organizations
U of Hawaii, USGS/PIERC
Contacts(names, emails)
Paul D. Krushelnycky, pauldk@hawaii.edu Lloyd Loope, lloope@usgs.gov
Partnering Agencies, Institutions, and Organizations
PI-CSC
Assessment Type
Climate Science
Needs And Capabilities
Needs
Capacity
Capabilities
Risk and Vulnerability or Problem-focused
Area of Applicability
International and National
National and Regional
Regional/Local or Problem-focused
Focus Area
Fresh Water Resources and Drought
Coastal Inundation/Sea Level Rise, Extreme Weather, and Community Resilience
Marine and Terrestrial Ecosystems
Region/Locale
Central North Pacific
State of Hawaii
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
Pacific Remote Islands
Western North Pacific
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)
Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)
Guam
Republic of Palau
Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI)
Other Western North Pacific
South Pacific
American Samoa
Australia
Cook Islands
Fiji
French Polynesia
Kiribati
New Zealand
Papua New Guinea (PNG)
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Other South Pacific
Pacific Basin
Global
Focus Area
Completed
Ongoing
Planned
Proposed
Description
The Haleakala silversword plant forms the foundation of a diverse alpine community, and its behavior likely reflects wider ecological responses to climate. This species is already exhibiting patterns of mortality related to climate-driven movement towards higher altitudes. This project aims to understand patterns and causes of recent declines in the Haleakala silversword population that are associated with decreasing precipitation, increasing temperature, and related climate changes in Hawaii's high-elevation ecosystems. Building on extensive research and datasets, this study will collect the demographic and climate data needed to construct a robust population model for the silversword and make future population projections under various climate scenarios. In addition, the project will conduct a range of seedling drought tolerance experiments to clarify causes of recent widespread mortality in the species, and determine methods most likely to lead to restoration success.
Url
https://nccwsc.usgs.gov/display-project/4f8c650ae4b0546c0c397b48/5011925fe4b0d78fd4e59baa
Keywords
Regional/Local or Problem-focused Marine and Terrestrial Ecosystems Central North Pacific State of Hawaii Ongoing Risk and Vulnerability or Problem-focused
Worksheet