The Hawaii Stream Research Center has
initiated a cooperative 3-year research project which brings together
the University of Hawaii, the National Tropical Botanical Garden,
and the State Division of Aquatic Resources. This project is focused
in 1005 acre Limahuli Valley, located on
Kauai's northern shore. In this unique Hawaiian stream valley,
the National Tropical Botanical Garden has embarked on an ambitious
campaign to develop active watershed management strategies which
will protect and enhance, in perpetuity, Limahuli's biological
diversity. Educating residents and visitors alike about the uniqueness
and fragility of Hawaiian ecosystems is a primary goal of this
exceptional program.
As part of this management project,
we have overlayed stream studies whose goal is to develop an understanding
of how this single stream system functions as an ecological unit
within the Limahuli watershed. In order to accomplish this, we
are developing stream monitoring technologies which are designed
to track changing physical and biological components within Limahuli
stream over time. In doing so, we hope to understand the ecological
processes functioning in Hawaiian streams and how these processes
interact with watersheds and localized weather variation. The
technologies we develop, can later be applied to streams statewide
and be transferred to agencies responsible for resource management
and protection.
Developing an understanding of the natural dynamics of water and nutrient fluxes between watersheds, riparian areas, and streams, is a critical prerequisite to the development of management strategies designed to mitigate human-induced impacts on Hawaii's water resources. This information is essential to resource managers who must be able to predict the outcome of their land-based decisions on surface and ground water resources. By then shaping resource management philosophy and policy, in both public and private sectors, a working management system can be developed for the Hawaiian Islands which will allocate resources equitably yet promote long-term water resource sustainability.
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