Ohia trees are dying rapidly, Why?

[Guest]

That was a good one Vancouver, Along with animal house, the jerk, or caddie shack, One of my all-time favorite stupid movies to watch is the attack of the killer tomatoes.
Found yet another pretty good reading article with pictures and possible preventative tips regarding our Rapid Ohia death.

http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/reg...a-wilt.xml

Question here.
Would losing our rain forest dominant tree (Ohia) have an affect on our weather? Could Puna become dryer in the years to come due to this fungus poisoning?

Some old timers have told me that places like kawaihai or Kona use to recieve much more rain when they had more trees a couple hundred years ago, any truth to that?.