Leaf spectroscopy of resistance to Ceratocystis wilt of 'Ōhi'a.

Plant pathogens are increasingly compromising forest health, with impacts to the ecological, economic, and cultural goods and services these global forests provide. One response to these threats is the identification of disease resistance in host trees, which with conventional methods can take years or even decades to achieve. Remote sensing methods have accelerated host resistance identification in agricultural crops and for a select few forest tree species, but applications are rare.

Impacts of insect frass and cadavers on soil surface litter decomposition along a tropical forest temperature gradient.

Insect herbivores play important roles in shaping many ecosystem processes, but how climate change will alter the effects of insect herbivory are poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we quantified for the first time how insect frass and cadavers affected leaf litter decomposition rates and nutrient release along a highly constrained 4.3°C mean annual temperature (MAT) gradient in a Hawaiian montane tropical wet forest.