Study system
The study site sits across two adjacent reserves on East Maui - The
Nature Conservancy (TNC) of Hawai‘i’s Waikamoi Preserve and the Makawao
Forest Reserve. This area was invaded by ginger in the early 1980s. The
ginger has spread across the reserves, significantly increasing in
density and coverage over the last decades (The Nature Conservancy of
Hawaii 2011). The Waikamoi Preserve is actively managed by TNC, who
regularly remove ginger seedlings throughout the preserve to maintain a
largely native landscape within the fenced off area. In comparison, the
Makawao Forest Reserve is maintained less frequently and thus a thick
stand of ginger covers much of the reserve, meeting the fence line that
separates the adjacent Waikamoi Preserve.