Hawaiian tropical high shrublands explained

The Hawaiian tropical high shrublands are a tropical savanna ecoregion in the Hawaiian Islands.

20°N -156°W

Hawaiian tropical high shrublands
Country:United States
State:Hawaii
Border1:Hawaiian tropical rainforests
Border2:Hawaiian tropical dry forests[1]
Area:1900
Biogeographic Realm:Oceanian
Biome:Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Climate:Subtropical highland (Cfb and Cwb)
Conservation:Vulnerable
Global200:No[2]

Geography

The high shrublands ecoregion covers an area of 1900km2 on the upper slopes of the volcanoes Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Hualālai, and Haleakalā.

Flora

The plant communities include open shrublands, grasslands, and deserts. Shrubland species include ʻāheahea (Chenopodium oahuense), ʻōhelo ʻai (Vaccinium reticulatum), naʻenaʻe (Dubautia menziesii), and ʻiliahi (Santalum haleakalae). Alpine grasslands are dominated by tussock grasses, such as Deschampsia nubigena, Eragrostis atropioides, Panicum tenuifolium, and pili uka (Trisetum glomeratum). Deserts occur on the coldest and driest peaks, where only extremely hardy plants such as ʻāhinahina (Argyroxiphium sandwicense) and Dubautia species are able to grow.

Fauna

The nēnē (Branta sandvicensis) is one of the few birds found in alpine shrublands, while ʻuaʻu (Pterodroma sandwichensis) nest in this ecoregion.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hawaii tropical high shrublands . Bioimages . Vanderbilt University . 2011-11-19.
  2. The Global 200: Priority Ecoregions for Global Conservation . PDF . David M. . Olson . Eric Dinerstein . Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden . 89 . 2002 . 199–224 . 10.2307/3298564.