Giardina et al. 2023
Seasonally dry tropical forest (SDTF) is a critical tropical forest ecosystem given its global distribution, biodiversity and the services it provides to humanity. It covers 42% of the tropical forest biome and is found in five of the eight biogeographic realms of the world. However, indicators of their status show that SDTF areas remain significantly threatened by land use and cover change, pollution, exotic invaders, fires and climate change, with negative consequences for the environmental services that the ecosystem provides. Such goods and services vary considerably in terms of rates and sensitivity to global environmental changes compared to its humid counterpart, thus their recovery requires different approaches to management and restoration. The magnitude of the anthropogenic impact on SDTF demands a move beyond conservation to develop an SDTF restoration science leading to the sustainable maintenance of these areas. Indeed, despite the urgent and clear need for ecosystem-specific, evidence-based knowledge to support tropical dry forests management and restoration practices, much of the relevant information is absent or incomplete. The Special Issue of “Tropical Dry Forest Restoration in an Era of Global Change: ecological and social dimensions” of the journal Sustainability, focuses on documenting the ecological and socioeconomic complexity of tropical dry forest regions and the evidence needed to underpin restoration and conservation practices. Papers will be framed within the socioecological context of restoration including the indicators for measuring success in the practice for the recovery of the ecosystem function and the ecosystem services that biodiversity provides. This Special Issue will offer findings that address the challenge for a sustainable restoration practice of tropical dry forest landscapes for the benefit and joy of future generations. Beyond review papers, manuscripts describing new research, methodological approaches to their restoration and new theories are also welcome.
Frazier et al. 2022
This paper synthesizes the effects of 5 types of drought in Hawai‘i: Meteorological, Agricultural, Hydrological, Ecological, and Socioeconomic. Droughts have resulted in over $80 million in agricultural relief since 1996, and have increased wildfire risk. A geospatial analysis of 100-years of spatial drought data revealed that drought duration and magnitude have increased significantly: droughts in Hawai‘i have gotten longer and more severe. We also describe the linkages between drought and ENSO events.
Longman et al. 2022
Drought is a growing threat to hydrological, ecological, agricultural, and socio-cultural systems of the tropics, especially tropical islands of the Pacific where severe droughts can compromise food and water security. Overcoming barriers to knowledge sharing between land managers and researchers is a critical cross-sector strategy for engaging and mitigating or adapting to drought. Here we describe the establishment and functioning of the Pacific Drought Knowledge Exchange (PDKE), which provides users with easier access to: (1) sector- and geography-specific climate information; (2) better and more comprehensive information; (3) improved technical assistance; and (4) a more collaborative information-transfer environment through participation in knowledge co-production. We focus on our collaborative work with managers of important tropical dryland ecosystems from three distinct geographies to pilot the collaborative development of climate change, climate variability, and drought “portfolios” featuring site-specific historical and forecasted future information. This information was then used to collaboratively produce factsheets that partners used to: (i) better understand past and projected climate for specific management units; (ii) integrate new climate knowledge into management planning; and (iii) support climate-focused educational and outreach efforts. This pilot effort demonstrates the successful application of climate-focused co-production in dry tropical landscapes.
Longman et al. 2022
This publication reports out on a workshop that saw more than 40 participants, representing federal and state government agencies, non-governmental organizations, academia, and private landholders meet remotely to receive practical training in considering climate change information and identifying adaptation actions for natural resources management professionals working in forests and native Hawaiian ecosystems. We effectively delivered content to managers and created an experiential learning environment in which they developed adaptation tactics for their management projects, integrating Indigenous science and knowledge into the workshop format and content.
Lucas et al. 2020
To support the previously mentioned efforts, this paper describes the creation of a gridded drought index for Hawai‘i from 1920-2012. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) is based only on rainfall, and allows users to examine drought at different time scales. Here we compare results between the high-resolution SPI and the US Drought Monitor for Hawai‘i. We hope to create a near-real-time SPI product available on the Hawai‘i Climate Data Portal in the near future.
Frazier et al. 2019
The effects of drought on reduced water supply also have social and economic consequences. Therefore, drought has been defined from at least five different perspectives: (1) meteorological, (2) hydrological, (3) ecological, (4) agricultural, and (5) socioeconomic. In this publication, the authors explore how these drought perspectives are expressed in Hawai‘i and the USAPI, and how resource managers address drought-related stressors to their systems.
Polhemus 2017
Although tropical Pacific islands are generally perceived as having wet climates, they are vulnerable to periodic episodes of drought. This literature review strives to establish a base of information relating to such drought events in the U. S.- affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI), a vast expanse of the oceanic Pacific larger than the North American continent, spanning five time zones and the International Date Line roughly between the southern Tropic of Capricorn across the equator to the northern Tropic of Cancer. The USAPI include the Territories of American Samoa and Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Freely Associated States of the Republic of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and Republic of the Marshall Islands. This review examines drought at several different levels of cause and effect, including meteorological, hydrological, ecological, agricultural, and socioeconomic drought.