Graduation Year

2026

Date of Submission

4-2026

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Environmental Analysis

Reader 1

Colin Robins

Reader 2

Corey Kohn

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Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

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© 2026 Carol K Hutchison

Abstract

Ensuring the sustainability of freshwater supplies on island systems such as Hawaiʻi is of high economic and environmental priority, with watershed management being essential to this goal. Watershed management in Hawaiʻi focuses largely on conservation and restoration of native forests, which are considered hydrologically most efficient. Across the islands, widespread dominance of forests by non-native species is an ongoing challenge that can fundamentally alter the structure and hydrologic function of forest ecosystems. This study proposes to investigate forest structure and infiltration capacity along an invasion gradient in montane wet forests of Maui, Hawaiʻi. By measuring forest and soil characteristics along with field-saturated hydraulic conductivity across three treatments (native, mixed, invaded), this study aims to identify (1) vegetation and soil factors associated with invasion, (2) impacts of invasion on infiltration, and (3) predictors of infiltration capacity. Anticipated results include higher infiltration in native-dominated forests due to their structural complexity (e.g., multi-layered canopy) and increased understory and ground cover vegetation. Given that there are few detailed field studies on infiltration in Hawaiian forests, this study will expand understanding of invasive species’ effects in forest ecosystems, which already face a precarious future. Findings may guide watershed management priorities and activities, as well as contribute to current understandings of the hydrologic functions of mixed communities.

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