Saving Hawaii’s Rainforests with the Crowd

July 6, 2014 By IdeaConnection

k1Hawaii’s native forests are under threat from invasive plants. Weeds such as Australian Tree Fern and African Tulip Tree are soaking up vital water resources that native flora needs. The situation is so serious that invasive species have been responsible for the destruction of more than half of Hawaii’s native forests.

To help combat the threat, Digital Globe and The Nature Conservancy are enlisting the crowd to help with a huge global initiative.

 

The Problem

According to the US Forest Service, invasive species are threatening the unique biota of Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, the productivity of their managed forests and the ability to restore landscapes that have been wiped out.

And it won’t be just Hawaii that loses out. In an interview with BBC News, Trea Menard, director of forest conservation for The Nature Conservancy said:

“The native forest is extremely unique. About 90% of the plants and animals that evolved here do not occur anywhere else in the world, which means they are endemic to Hawaii.

“If they are lost from Hawaii, they are pretty much lost to the planet.”

Identifying the Invaders

Volunteers can help reverse the invasive trend by analysing aerial photographs of forest areas and tagging species of invasive weeds. The project is being hosted on DigitalGlobe’s Tomnod platform. Anyone can take part and no training is needed. As users look at the images, a graphic appears on the left hand side of the screen outlining what you should be looking for.

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This will help researchers to identify the leading edge of the weeds’ spread and mobilize resources to slow it down and even push back the leading edge. Currently, the crowdsourcing project is focused on 3,000 acres (1, 214 hectares) on the island of Kauai, and more than 5,000 people have signed up to take part. If the initiative is successful more Hawaiian areas could be added.


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Reader Comments


I am happy to help with this initiative.

Grace
Posted by Grace Bostic on July 23, 2014

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