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Although it is so much easier to blame things that are not here yet, like fracking, or things that came here AFTER the ohia dieback syndromes were first reported & studied, like the herbicide glyphosate, it is much better for everyone to ACTUALLY study the whole problem, and there are many resources, true by scientists, but guys like Peter Vitousek are truely interested in this & really want to find the.... pardon the pun... root cause of ohia dieback, not some very quick & easy finger pointing that may not help anyone understand the lifecycle of these amazing trees
Thanks for the returned posts regarding our Ohia. I don't know why there dying and I am only pointing out the obvious Possibilities? The truth I believe lies somewhere under there leaves that they have left behind now. If we have such smart people here, yet the Universities forest department, Dlnr, U.S forest department, Mayor's office, Helco, and Geothermal are as clueless as I am. It may need funded again, But this time in the 20th century. The technology is better now, as well as the scientist. That is unless the state does not want to find out the actual reason for THIS dieoff.
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Here is a four page PDF file of a study conducted in 1972 concerning "Ohia dieoff".
Awesome info Greg. My wife and I really feel more informed about the natural die off. Well it does look like it is repeating itself again, the circle of life? P.S I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO WORK THIS COMPUTER BETTER & TRY TO BE MORE FACTUAL. Thank you.
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Maybe we can GMO the Ohia tree to make it more fungi and drought resistant!
Problem Solved!
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Also there are some studies (the links I have given) on the fact that many of the diebacks were cohort base (ie, a lot of trees of the same age are growing up at the same time, using up resources at the same rate, competing for the same sunshine & new nutrients...something that is not as evident on old soils in old forests, but is very common in areas of high natural disturbance, and the biggie for most ohia , as they are normally all starting up at once in an area of virgin lava flow) and the soil cation work that is being studies, all of these are natural, long studies & not as easy to totally explain...but seem to be a very real part of the ohia, making it truly a Metrosideros polymorpha.... a true plant of many forms (poly morph)
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The thing about ohia is that although it has not formed distinct species (except for a few on the older islands, and even those may be able to hybridize), there are many varieties that are optimized for different habitats. That's a big part of what has allowed it to live in so many different places, from the wettest bogs and rain forests to the near-deserts on the leeward side and at 8000 feet on Mauna Loa. On the Big Island especially, since the conditions are constantly changing as the soil/rock ages, one variety gets succeeded by another. You can see this easily on the Saddle Road where there is a hairy-leaved variety on the newest lava flows and a hairless variety on older flows with developed soil. They grow close together and you can find some intermediate hybrids between them.
The nutrient balance, water level, soil permeability, etc. change over time; and as they do, the habitat can become unfavorable to the point where the ohia die. When this happens, you get a dieback event, affecting a large cohort of trees of the same variety and similar age. They then get replaced by another cohort, better adapted to the new conditions. The area affected by dieback on the windward side of Mauna Kea in the 1970s has regrown considerably, though the large number of dead trunks still visible make it look bad.
This, of course, is the natural cycle. There are a lot of human-caused disturbances that can alter it - pigs, introduced pathogens, climate change, etc.
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quote:
Originally posted by PaulW
"our rain making OHIA"
How does that work?
I think it comes from the Hawaiian saying: Hahai no ka ua i ka ulula 'au.
Puna: Our roosters crow first
Oh yes, we do have a cycle here in lower Puna? The dying Ohia are being replaced with larger Albesia and there has been very little response by the county or state. The Stink from the blooming Albesia is so bad sometimes it reminds me of the paper mills back east. The residents there were almost immune to the smell of rotten eggs over time. They would even say " that's the smell of Money". Well these trees are going to cost this county and state more and more money as time goes by?. The falling branches on roads, lines, vehicles, houses, and let's not forget the liabilities that may be involved. Right now the county estimates a cost of anywhere of two thousand to ten thousand dollars per tree to rid or remove. May be a few more jobs in the tree business? The Ohia may not get a chance to grow back naturally this time? Leilani estates is a good example, most Ohia are dying, dead, or next. Yet the Albesia is racing up the power line road like no other tree? What can us homeowners do about it? I machete, poison, even pull as many as I can yet there's more today than last year. Maybe the county and state will figure out a way to take people's property back when they can't comply with the new future codes or laws?. Scary for owner's not here?.
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the 'polymorpha' Ohia (meaning many forms) will naturally adapt to every environment and has been doing so for 50+ million years here in Hawaii... they are healthy and are found everywhere in Puna not screwed by the cleared land/sugar cane fields (then albezia gunpowder waiwi etc. take over). Ohia are one of the only endemic trees that can compete and win with the invasives.
But Ohia will easily die back if disturbed.
If you live down in lower HPP and build a home (w/catchmentt/well) and remove all of the native plants around the trees ie all of the moisture retaining Uluhe, which most people remove down there, this WILL cause the trees to die back when there are unusually long droughts. These trees will stress and the tops will die back at first, the limited soil gets too dried out if you remove the endemic/indigenous mulch layer that keeps the soil below moist in times of lower rain. If you are sucking water from roof catchment nearby, this is water being robbed from these stressed Ohia and will also help to kill the older trees back as well.. Ohias are not dieing up on the hill in the watershed area because they get enough rain even if disturbed... yes Ohia do make rain  they help collect water droplets on cloud swept ridges that drip down to the ground that wouldnt have if the trees were removed in the watershed) Disturbed land is the main reason Kohala area (5-Star hotel area) is so dry now the natural trees (wiliwili, 'ohe, etc.) that grew in that 'now desert' were removed (by Hawaiians and postCook) and deep rooted water sucking non-native kiawe were planted out, even removing more of the natural moisture from the land.... that = driest spot in the USA NOW!
do not disturb the native plants, and plant more native plants!
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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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