Ohia trees are dying rapidly, Why?

[Durian Fiend]

quote:

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Originally posted by Kenney

Killing the Ohia to get rid of the Staghorn seems like throwing out the baby with the bath water to me. We consider ours to be a treasure.

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I agree. There are many attractive and useful tropical ornamentals, but Ohia, Hapuu and even Staghorn are my favorites, partly because they're what makes our landscape fairly unique.

[Guest]

Interesting story about Hawaii's tree and the fungus that's now killing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G6OHwaJh7Q

The ROD spreads faster and further after large wind storms like the one this past week?

[kalakoa]

ROD spreads faster and further after large wind storms

Yes, it does; could we or should we find a way to hold PGV accountable for the wind?

[Guest]

Kalakoa, instead of further blaming the PGV geothermal maybe you should ask yourself how the geothermal has helped the ROD situation in their area. The PGV power plant area is known to be ground zero for the ROD outbreak.

[Obie]

Sorry and I think I posted this before.
The ohia on all sides of PGV are all healthy .

[Guest]

Obie, top of the morning to you sir. When you watch short videos that shows parts of the PGV power plant you don't see many Ohia at all. In fact I see vast open areas that have been recently bulldozed and dead Ohia stumps like the one in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggXZVex7NqU

this is also an interesting video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggXZVex7NqU

Maybe you Obie, could provide some pictures or proof of the PGV surrounding area that has all these healthy Ohia trees.

[Obie]

Don't need a picture to show why there are no Ohia trees at the PGV site.
Try this historic record:

Olaa Sugar Company was located on the Island of Hawaii just nine miles from Hilo on the road to Volcano and the National Park. The plantation fields extended for ten miles along both sides of this highway as well as in the Pahoa and Kapoho areas of the Puna District.

The task of setting up the plantation was enormous. Before 1900, coffee was the chief agricultural crop in the area. Over 6,000 acres of coffee trees were owned by approximately 200 independent coffee planters and 6 incorporated companies. The coffee trees were uprooted to make way for cane. Ohia forests had to be cleared, field rock piled, land plowed by mules of dug up by hand with a pick, quarters for laborers and staff had to be built, the mill constructed, and the first cane planted.

More

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~speccoll/p_puna.html

The trees were long gone when PGV showed up.

[kalakoa]

instead of further blaming the PGV geothermal maybe you should ask yourself how the geothermal has helped the ROD

Still sounds like "blame" to me.

The task of setting up the plantation was enormous.

Didn't they also build a railroad, using ohia logs as rail ties?

[Guest]

Mahalo Kalakoa and Obie for the short history lessons. All that ripping and building rail with Ohia back in those old days and yet no ROD was started. Rod started in lower Puna during this decade of time, some here like myself wonder WHY??

For a one of a kind fungus mutation to occur or happen, one may need to look for possible environmental changes to the area. The biggest changes to the rain forest environment that has happened in lower Puna in the past decade or two may have come from the 400 acres that the PGV experimental power plant sits on. jmo. The PGV has drilled several new production wells and even into a lava chamber to bring lava to the surface, possibly doing all this with drilling equipment from out a state. They have changed techniques and added proprietary mixes and millions of gallons of hot water to help enhance their production. They have expanded their production levels several times, They even built a new power plant on the property that is now owned by HELCO.

[Obie]

Gypsy

"The biggest changes to the rain forest environment that has happened in lower Puna in the past decade or two may have come from the 400 acres that the PGV experimental power plant sits on.jmo."

Reality

"Between 1909 and 1910, Pa#772;hoa Lumber Mill have lumbered something over 1000 acres. In 1911, the Pa#772;hoa Lumber Mill sought more land for logging."

More :

http://imagesofoldhawaii.com/ties-to-the-santa-fe/