Botanical inventory of the proposed Ta'u Unit of the National Park of American Samoa

dc.contributor.authorWhistler, W Arthur
dc.date.accessioned2009-03-07T01:41:33Z
dc.date.available2009-03-07T01:41:33Z
dc.date.issued1992-02
dc.descriptionReports were scanned in black and white at a resolution of 600 dots per inch and were converted to text using Adobe Paper Capture Plug-in.
dc.description.abstractTwo or three decades ago, Samoa had the highest percentage of intact native vegetation of any Polynesian archipelago. This may still be true, but since then nearly all of the forests of the lowlands (up to ca. 400 m elevation) have been felled or burned for agriculture to keep up with the explosive population growth of the islands, or were decimated by commercial logging operations (particularly in Western Samoa). Nearly all that is left of native Samoan forest is in the montane regions, and even those are currently under siege. Because of this tragic loss of Samoan rain forest, the area of the park represents a significant remnant of native Samoan vegetation, and is important for the unique plant communities it contains. The park is also important because of its rich flora. Only a few of the native species are endemic to the island (less than six), but 329 native vascular plant species have been recorded there. Although only few of the species on Ta'u would end up on an endangered species list, the importance of preserving such a diverse assemblage of plants in their native habitat cannot be over-emphasized. Even with the protection afforded the area by its ranking as a national park, there are threats to the native vegetation and flora, the most serious of which come from human activities.
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Park Service Cooperative Agreement CA 8034 2 0001
dc.identifier.citationWhistler WA. 1992. Botanical inventory of the proposed Ta'u Unit of the National Park of American Samoa. Honolulu (HI): Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Botany. PCSU Technical Report, 83.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10125/7120
dc.language.isoen-US
dc.publisherCooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Botany
dc.relation.ispartofseriesTechnical Report
dc.relation.ispartofseries83
dc.subject.lcshManua Islands (American Samoa)
dc.subject.lcshPlants -- American Samoa -- Manua Islands.
dc.subject.lcshVegetation surveys -- American Samoa -- Manua Islands.
dc.subject.lcshNational Park of American Samoa (American Samoa)
dc.titleBotanical inventory of the proposed Ta'u Unit of the National Park of American Samoa
dc.typeReport
dc.type.dcmiText

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