Remote Sensing, Biogeography, and Conservation of Tropical Dry Forests in Pacific Biodiversity Hotspots

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Tropical dry forests in the Pacific may currently be the world's most endangered forest type and could be ideal for testing a number of remote sensing, biogeographic, and conservation theories associated with extremely fragmented systems. This research project focuses on the biodiversity of woody plants (trees, shrubs, lianas) in five regions that contain tropical dry forest (Philippines, Micronesia, New Caledonia, Fiji, and Hawaii). The primary objectives of this research are to; 1) test the utility of remote sensing methods for predicting patterns of stand and patch species richness over different spatial scales; 2) undertake biogeographic comparisons of floristic composition, natural history characteristics, and forest structure and; 3) determine the conservation status of woody plants in remaining fragments of tropical dry forest in Biodiversity Hotspots of the Pacific. Field data on woody plants will be collected at the stand level using Gentry's transect method and at the patch level using systematic searches at 47 field sites in the largest and highest quality remaining patches of tropical dry forest in each region. Remote sensing using Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) imagery will be used to calculate landscape metrics and spectral indices hypothesized to be associated with woody plant species richness. The research project will test theories for predicting patterns of species richness and test a number of hypotheses concerning biogeographic patterns of functional natural history characteristics and forest structure. In particular, this research examines patterns and processes of woody plant species richness, functional natural history characteristics, and structure at local (stand level, patch level), regional (landscape level in each region, the Pacific region), and global (tropical dry forests around the world) spatial scales. Remote sensing methods associated with species richness in tropical dry forest of the Pacific can be undertaken in other under-researched tropical dry forests regions in order to make a first-order approximation for patterns of plant species richness. There is currently no comparative data on species richness, floristic composition, or forest structure for these Pacific region locations. Therefore, research will greatly enhance the knowledge base and infrastructure necessary for the effective conservation of tropical forests. The research will foster collaborative research among international scientists for long-term research programs in tropical dry forest regions and provide natural resources managers in the Philippines, Micronesia, New Caledonia, Fiji, and Hawaii with data and end-products that can be used to make decisions concerning the management of the few remaining fragments of tropical dry forest.