Aims:

• to investigate past and present response of woody C3 and C4 plants to climate change

•  to get better insight into the long-term variability of growth and water-use efficiency of woody C3 and C4 plants

•  to extend the instrumental record of atmospheric CO₂ dynamics (δ13CO₂, CO₂ concentration) inferred from δ¹³C of C4 tree rings back in time

•  to elucidate the potential for adaptation of C3 and C4 plants to climate change

Study sites and Material:

• C3 (Mamane, Sophora chrysophylla) and C4 (Akoko, Euphorbia olowaluana), from Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii (ridge between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea)

• High quality instrumental data records from the nearby Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO), with continuous direct measurements of atmospheric CO₂ since 1958 for isotope proxy data calibration

Methods:

• Measurement of growth increment periodicity and the stable isotope ratios of carbon and oxygen in tree ring cellulose

• Dendroecological long-term monitoring of Hawaiian woody C3 and C4 plants

Prof. Dr. Patrick Hart, UH at Hilo, Hawaii, USA

Ms. Tishanna Ben, UH at Hilo, Hawaii, USA

Prof. Dr. Brian Schubert, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA

Funding

Current