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Rapid primary productivity changes in one of the last coastal rainforests: the case of Kahua, Solomon Islands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2009

IRENE GARONNA ,
IOAN FAZEY ,
MOLLY E. BROWN  and
NATHALIE PETTORELLI
IRENE GARONNA
Affiliation:
Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London NW1 4RY, UK
IOAN FAZEY
Affiliation:
School of Geography and Geosciences, Irvine Building, University of St Andrews, Fife KY16 9AL, UK
MOLLY E. BROWN
Affiliation:
NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 614.4, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
NATHALIE PETTORELLI*
Affiliation:
Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London NW1 4RY, UK
*
*Correspondence: Dr Nathalie Pettorelli Tel: +44 20 7449 6334 Fax: +44 20 7483 2237 e-mail: Nathalie.Pettorelli@ioz.ac.uk
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Summary

The growth of human populations has many direct and indirect impacts on tropical forest ecosystems both locally and globally. This is particularly true in the Solomon Islands, where coastal rainforest cover still remains, but where climate change and a growing human population is putting increasing pressure on ecosystems. This study assessed recent primary productivity changes in the Kahua region (Makira, Solomon Islands) using remote sensing data (normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI). In this area, there has been no commercial logging and there is no existing information about the state of the forests. Results indicate that primary productivity has been decreasing in recent years, and that the recent changes are more marked near villages. Multiple factors may explain the reported pattern in primary productivity. The study highlights the need to (1) assess how accurately remote sensing data-based results match field data on the ground; (2) identify the relative contribution of the climatic, socioeconomic and political drivers of such changes; and (3) evaluate how primary productivity changes affect biodiversity level, ecosystem functioning and human livelihoods.

Keywords

MODIS (moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometers)NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index)primary productivitySolomon Islandstropical forests
Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 36 , Issue 3 , September 2009 , pp. 253 - 260
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2009

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