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Kukaniloko: Community Engagement and Ecological Restoration with the Vegetative Continuum
Kukaniloko: Community Engagement and Ecological Restoration with the Vegetative Continuum
Since June 2019, the 23-acre parcel within OHA’s 511-acre property in Wahiawā has undergone significant transformation aligned with the principles of mālama ʻāina and the long-term vision of restoring this wahi kūpuna. Guided by the Vegetation Continuum framework developed in partnership with UH’s Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences (TPSS), nearly 10 acres have been actively managed and monitored since the contract’s execution. This work has brought to life the theoretical continuum by establishing distinct yet interconnected demonstration plots—each representing a specific typology: Native Forest, Agroforest, Semi-managed Agroforest, and Agricultural/Specialized Horticulture. FY24–25 marked a major milestone in expanding these typologies, with a particular focus on native forest restoration and deepening agroforestry systems. Notable developments included the installation of a large-scale koa and kukui forest known as the HARC/PI-CASC plots, the construction of a banana windbreak, and ongoing maintenance of the kukui windbreak—each strategically designed to enhance ecosystem function and cultural resilience. See the latest annual report here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/2416e16c21ad4123b798c3f627beb123
Hala Cultural Care and Role in Climate Adaptation
Hala Cultural Care and Role in Climate Adaptation
Based on Hawaiʻi island, this project brings together different knowledges and practices (including those from Native Hawaiians, weavers, natural resource managers, university researchers from different disciplines, artists and curators) to co-learn, research, explore and create projects around climate resilience, and the cultural, economic, social, and ecological regenerative potential of hala (Pandanus tectorius). This project involves a consortium of organizations coordinated by the Enlivened Cooperative, including: the University of Hawai’i; The Kohala Center; and Kū-A-Kanaka and a number of community members that included weavers and land stewards. The project started in October 2023 and is being funded by the US Geological Survey’s Pacific Island Climate Adaptation Science Center (USGS/PI-CASC). The envisioned results are co-created research, conservation and education projects, and art/communication outputs that coalesce from the encounter of scientists, researchers, natural and cultural resource managers, cultural practitioners, educators, students and artists who have a stake in hala. One key output of the project is an exhibition of pieces created by project participants to be exhibited at the Wailoa Gallery in Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island in May 2025. Additional funds for the exhibition have been provided by the Craft Research Council and the Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities. See more here: https://enlivenedcooperative.org/hala-project/
Breadfruit Quality and Postharvest
Breadfruit Quality and Postharvest
Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a highly productive tropical fruit tree that serves as a staple starch across many tropical regions and holds strong economic potential. It produces high yields with minimal inputs and provides a rich source of carbohydrates, essential amino acids, dietary fiber, vitamins, and important minerals such as iron and potassium. Despite these advantages, breadfruit is highly perishable, with a postharvest shelf life of only 2-5 days under ambient conditions, which limits its commercialization beyond local markets and creates major challenges for handling, processing, and distribution. Given its strong potential to support climate resilience, food security and agricultural sustainability, this research focuses on extending breadfruit shelf life through improved harvest and postharvest practices. Specifically, the study investigates maturity, quality, and postharvest behaviour in three breadfruit varieties; “Ma’afala”, “Fiti” and “Otea”. The ultimate goal is to develop practical, science-based strategies that extend shelf life, reduce postharvest losses, and maximize the economicvalue of breadfruit production for farmers.
Afforestation Methods in Dry Habitats
Afforestation Methods in Dry Habitats
This project tests science-based methods of reforestation - specifically exploring the concepts of stable ecological states and the role of the microbiome in reforestation. In partnership with two community-based restoration sites, demonstration plots have been installed and are being monitored to help answer key questions to help scale ahupua'a level restoration.
Handbook of Hawaiian Farming
Handbook of Hawaiian Farming
Culminating 20 years of discussion, interviews, research, and applied learning, the handbook seeks to summarize traditional and contemporary Hawaiian farming methods, including major farming forms and strategies and their distributions, crop combinations and co-cropping approaches, and specific practices such as planting by the moon, varietal selection, inoculation, and field management.
Evaluation of Nānea as an Indigenous Cover Crop
Evaluation of Nānea as an Indigenous Cover Crop
Led by PhD student Jacob Hurst, this project compares the indigenous legume nānea (Vigna marina) to the commonly used perennial peanut in terms of its performance as a cover crop. The project explores the nitrogen fixation rates, nematode supression, beneficial insect attraction, and cost-benefit analysis of establishment and termination.
The "Three Braddahs" Polyculture and Functional Archetypes
The "Three Braddahs" Polyculture and Functional Archetypes
Led by PhD student Leonel Flores, we are using the famous milpa (aka The Three Sisters) system to develop a framework of essential functional archetypes necessary for intensive polyculture mixtures. This framework will be coupled to the Hawaiian crop cornucopia by cataloging the functional archetypes of each Hawaiian crop, then using the frame to design a new polyculture, which will be grown as individuals and in combination in order to evaluate the net agronomic, biodiversity, and soil health benefits.
Agroforestry: Barrier to Adoption
Agroforestry: Barrier to Adoption
Led by MSc student Ryan Weiskopf, we are researching the impacts of early-life shade on various aspects of banana growth, productivity, and internal physiological processes. Using metal structures with shade cloth, varying intensities of overstory shade are used to simulate for the first 3 months of a banana plant's growth cycle. The impact of this shade on height, diameter, leaf emergence rate, and harvest weights will be compared across shade levels and between two cultivars of banana, 'Dwarf Brazilian' and 'Dwarf Iholena'. These results can hopefully help inform ideal practices for incorporating bananas into agroforestry systems in terms of spacing, planting timing, and pruning. Additional analysis of photosynthetic metrics will be conducted to expand our understanding of how the internal processes of these two varieties respond to reductions in sunlight, and whether a history of 'Dwarf Iholena' inclusion in agroforestry understories has imparted genetic traits that help it adapt to light-limited environments.
Agroforestry: Barrier to Adoption
Agroforestry: Barrier to Adoption
This project researches the costs and benefits of breadfruit agroforestry and investigates barriers to adoption. It further builds and refines tools, and curates resources that address farmers' barriers to adopting agroforestry practices with an emphasis on economics. While agroforestry is promoted as a method of farming that can increase social and environmental outcomes, there is a deficiency of practical information on agroforestry outcomes to support adoption. The proposed project builds upon an existing collaboration between the University of Hawai’i, Hawai’i ‘Ulu Producers Cooperative, and Propagate to build resources, narratives, and tools to support the adoption of diversified agroforestry production. This project most specifically targets current and potential breadfruit agroforestry farmers in Hawai’i, however, the findings and resources will be more broadly applicable to potential agroforestry farmers throughout the tropics, such as Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and other US-affiliated Pacific Islands. The two overarching research objectives are: to gather and build detailed data on the benefits and costs of agroforestry in partnership with farmers who have adopted agroforestry; and to survey non-agroforestry farmers about their barriers and reservations in regards to adopting agroforestry. Through on-farm, co-produced methods, and peer-to-peer learning of genuine real-world skills, scenarios and problems, this project helps overcome barriers while assessing them. It gives support to improve existing agroforestry efforts and aims to provide economic clarity and confidence for establishing new agrosystems for both farmers and financiers.
Department of Hawaiian Homelands Agroforestry Support
Department of Hawaiian Homelands Agroforestry Support
Through support from the United States Forest Service, we are supporting four communities in East Hawaii to develop community and homeowner agroforestry to support a range of outcomes, including food security, economic livelihood, and cultural benefit and outcomes. Lab member Kahiau Kiyuna helped conduct thorough baseline mapping for each site to support planning and implementation, which can be read about in storymap form here. Lab member Lehua Patnaude and Ash Coulms, through support by KUPU, have propagated many of the trees that will go into there community plots.
Sustainability of Rainfed Hawaiian Agriculture
Sustainability of Rainfed Hawaiian Agriculture
The vast dryland rainfed systems of Maui and Hawai‘i Island were amazing achievements that were highly intensive and sustained for hundreds of years without the use of external inputs or legume crops. Previous research has demonstrated how these systems were situated in specific soil domains, or "sweet spots" of soil properties. However, little is know about the long-term impacts of centuries of indigenous farming on the soils. An NSF funded project examines these long-term impacts of cultivation by kanaka māoli and investigates the sustainability of these systems that once blanketed vast areas of Hawai'i.
Nitrogen Fixation in Kō (Hawaiian sugarcane)
Nitrogen Fixation in Kō (Hawaiian sugarcane)
Indigenous agriculture around the world needed ways to sustain nitrogen that was removed through harvest. Many mechanisms are documented: the overflowing of the Nile in the fertile crescent, the use of legumes in Mesoamerica, and the widespread application of night soil in southeast Asia. However, in Oceanic systems we have no clear idea how nitrogen was sustained over centuries. One potential the ICS lab has been exploring is the nitrogen fixation potential of sugarcane. These heirloom varieties have been shown to have associations with nitrogen fixing bacteria, and studies have documented nitrogen fixation while plants are growing, and when the plants are decomposing. Appropriate management of sugarcane may have resulted in significant nitrogen inputs to traditional Hawaiian agricultural systems.
Breadfruit Variety Trials
Breadfruit Variety Trials
The ICS lab has established 10 replicate sites across the state of Hawaii for observation of 5 breadfruit varieties: 'Ulu Maoli, Ma‘afala, Pua‘a, Otea, and Fiti. The priamry objectives of this study are to (1) explore environment x variety interactions across the diverse Hawaiian ecologies and (2) use detailed weather and phenological dataset to deeply explore the drivers of breadfruit fruit set and yields. We examine the phenology, growth, production, disease/pests, and other parameters of the trees to see how they react to climate and soil type. In addition, we recently began to study post-harvest conditions of fruit harvested from these sites to better understand how the stage of maturity, method of storage, and various other factors present at harvest effect the composition of the fruit, and how long it may be stored. Current ICS lab members are working to create more replicate sites for observation of breadfruit, and learning to propagate trees as well.
Community Forests and Family Trees for Native Hawaiian Health and Well-Being
Community Forests and Family Trees for Native Hawaiian Health and Well-Being
This project supports the communities and individual families of Hawaiian Homestead Associations (HHAs) on the eastern side of Hawai‘i Island to support the mission of rehabilitation of native Hawaiian people and culture. As with most indigenous peoples, Hawaiian culture, identity, and well-being stem from interaction with the land. The Hawaiian word for land is ‘āina, literally translated as “that which feeds,” which carries with it a set of meanings that encompass the growing of food as well as the mental and spiritual sustenance derived from interactions with the land.
We are working with native Hawaiian communities to address local issues of environmental and social justice by supporting agroforestry initiatives on designated community space as well as individual family lots. Use of the community lands are guided by a master plan that includes areas for community forests or agroforestry, but these areas often remain undeveloped because no funding is allocated to support implementation.
The focus of this project includes: 1) Development of Community Forests; 2) Educational Outreach and Engagement; and 3) Supporting Community Tree Plantings.
Cacao Fermentation Microbiome and Flavor
Cacao Fermentation Microbiome and Flavor
In partnership with local cacao growers, this project explores how the site affects the fermentation microbiome of cacao, and consequently how that affects the flavor of the chocolate produced.
Sugarcane Vinasse as a Local Fertilization Product
Sugarcane Vinasse as a Local Fertilization Product
In partnership with local rum producers, this project looks at the application of the byproduct from distillation (vinasse) as a potentila liquid fertilizer in Hawaii.
Honing Breadfruit Cuttings
Honing Breadfruit Cuttings
This project was started in order to better understand the effects of auxins on breadfruit cuttings and optimize the procedure for rooting breadfruit cuttings. The first part of the project looked at auxin concentration used for quick dip treatments of cuttings. A range of concentrations were used to identify the ideal amount to use for the maximum amount of adventitious root induction. The second part of this project looks at the the use of novel application methods to extend the auxin exposure period which has shown improvements in rooting other recalcitrant species. The most effective method of auxin application identified will then be applied to multiple breadfruit varieties to see whether the improvements in root induction apply across varieties and if these methods can be used to increase the success rates of cuttings of difficult-to-root varieties. This research has the potential to increase the output of breadfruit nurseries and increase the availability of more difficult to root varieties.
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