Research Interests

My specialty is vegetation ecology, an area in which I wrote a university textbook together with a European colleague (Aims and Methods of Vegetation Ecology, Wiley & Sons, 1974). Based on that background I became particularly interested in vegetation and ecosystem dynamics, an area in which I did research for the past 25 years. Island ecosystems vary along a spectrum of biological diversity and disturbance regimes and often display a special dynamics that is rarely found in continental ecosystems. The differences are elucidating and carry a strong message for forestry and natural area management.

Selected Publications

Mueller-Dombois, D. 1998. Watershed evolution in the Hawaiian Islands. Elepaio (J. of Hawaiian Audobon Soc.) 58(6): 31-36.

Mueller-Dombois, D. 1998. Vegetation and ecosystem research for biodiversity conservation in the Pacific Islands. Pac. Sci. Inform. Bull. 50(1/2): 1-10.

Mueller-Dombois, D. 1998. Regenwalddynamik und Landschaftsentwicklung auf den Hawaii Inseln. Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau 51(8): 298-304.

Mueller-Dombois, D. 1998. Dieback dynamics in Pacific Island and mountain forests. Pages 277-284 in "Modern Trends in Ecology and Environment.". R.S. Ambasht, ed. Backhuys Publishers, Leyden. 362 pp.

Mueller-Dombois, D. and R.F Fosberg 1998. Vegetation of the Tropical Pacific Islands. Springer-Verlag, N.Y. Ecological Studies Volume 132. 773 pp. And 144 illustr. plates.

Kitayama, K.E., A.G. Schuur, D.R. Drake, and D. Mueller-Dombois. 1997. Fate of a wet montane forest during soil aging in Hawaii. Journ. Of Ecology 85: 669-679.

Kitayama, K.E., R. Pattison, S. Cordell, D. Webb, and D. Mueller-Dombois. 1997. Ecological and genetic implications of foliar polymorphism in Metrosiderosa polymorpha Gaud (Myrtaceae) in a habitat matrix on Mauna Loa, Hawaii. Annals of Botany 80:491-497.

Mueller-Dombois, D. 1996. Conservation of endangered species Ð a noble but inadequate strategy. Pages 7-29 in "Will Stream Restoration Benefit Freshwater, Estuarine, and Marine Fisheries?" DLNR Aquatic Resources Division Tech. Report 96-1. 333 pp.

Mueller-Dombois, D. 1996. Geomorphological evolution of stream ecosystems and rainforest dynamics in Hawaii. Pages 163-206 in "Will Stream Restoration Benefit Freshwater, Estuarine, and Marine Fisheriew?" DLNR Aquatic Resources Tech. Report 96-1. 333 pp.

Mueller-Dombois, D. 1995. Biological diversity and disturbance regimes in island ecosystems. Chapter in "Islands: Biological Diversity and Ecosystem Function." P.M. Vitousek and H. Adserson, eds, Springer Ecol. Series.

Mueller-Dombois, D. 1994. Vegetation dynamics and the evolution of Metrosideros polymorpha in Hawai'i. Phytocoenologia 24: 609-614.

Mueller-Dombois, D. 1993. Biotic impoverishment and climate change: global causes of forest decline? pp. 338-348 in "Forest Decline in the Atlantic and Pacific Region." R. Huettl and D. Mueller-Dombois (eds.). Springer-Verlag Berlin, Heidelberg. 366 p.

Mueller-Dombois, D. 1992. A natural dieback theory, cohort senescence, as an alternative to the decline disease theory. pp. 26-37 in Forest Decline Concepts. P. D. Manion and D. Lachance, eds. APS Press.

Mueller-Dombois, D. 1992. The formation of island ecosystems. GeoJournal 28(2): 293-296.

Mueller-Dombois, D. 1992. Potential effects of the increase in carbon dioxide and climate change on the dynamics of vegetation. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 64: 61-79.

Mueller-Dombois, D. 1992. Sustainable forestry: the role of eucalypts and lessons from natural and artificial monculture systems. S.A. Forestry Journal 162: 57-59.