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.