Current Projects

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.  

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. 

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.  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.