Hawaiian_tropical_low_shrublands
Hawaiian tropical low shrublands
Tropical savanna ecoregion of the Hawaiian Islands in the United States
The Hawaiian tropical low shrublands are a tropical savanna ecoregion in the Hawaiian Islands.
| Hawaiian tropical low shrublands | |
|---|---|
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Oceanian |
| Biome | Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands |
| Borders | Hawaiian tropical dry forests[1] |
| Geography | |
| Area | 1,500 km2 (580 sq mi) |
| Country | United States |
| State | Hawaii |
| Climate type | Tropical savanna (Aw) |
| Conservation | |
| Conservation status | Critical/Endangered[2] |
| Global 200 | No[3] |
| Protected | 0 km² (0%)[4] |
These shrublands cover an area of 1,500 km2 (580 sq mi) in the leeward lowlands of the main islands and most of the smaller islands, not including the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands which form an ecoregion of their own.
The ecoregion includes both grasslands and mixed shrublands. Kāwelu (Eragrostis variabilis), mauʻu ʻakiʻaki (Fimbristylis cymosa), ʻakiʻaki (Sporobolus virginicus), and Lepturus repens are common grassland plants. Shrublands are dominated by ʻilima (Sida fallax), ʻaʻaliʻi (Dodonaea viscosa), naupaka (Scaevola spp.), hinahina kū kahakai (Heliotropium anomalum var. argenteum), kīpūkai (Heliotropium curassavicum), maʻo (Gossypium tomentosum), ʻakoko (Euphorbia spp.), ʻāheahea (Chenopodium oahuense), naio (Myoporum sandwicense), kolokolo kahakai (Vitex rotundifolia), and pūkiawe (Styphelia tameiameiae).[2] More than 90% of the plant species found in this ecoregion are endemic, including ʻōhai (Sesbania tomentosa),[5] ʻāwiwi (Schenkia sebaeoides), and wahine noho kula (Isodendrion pyrifolium).[6]
Protected areas that cover part of the ecoregion include Koko Head District Park, Diamond Head, Mākua Kea'au Forest Reserve, Ka'ena Point State Park, and Kuaokala Forest Reserve on Oahu.
- "Hawaiian tropical low shrublands". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
- "Hawaii tropical low shrublands". Bioimages. Vanderbilt University. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
- "Hawaii tropical low shrublands". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
- Olson, David M.; Eric Dinerstein (2002). "The Global 200: Priority Ecoregions for Global Conservation" (PDF). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 89 (2): 199–224. doi:10.2307/3298564. JSTOR 3298564.
- Dinerstein, Eric; Olson, David; et al. (June 2017). "An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm". BioScience. 67 (6): 534–545. doi:10.1093/biosci/bix014. PMC 5451287. PMID 28608869.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) Supplemental material 2 table S1b. - World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Hawaii tropical low shrublands". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
- "Wahine noho kula Isodendrion pyrifolium" (PDF). Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy. Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
