Location

                 The South Pacific Islands Forests are mainly tropical moist and dry broadleaf forests. This global ecoregion is located in the South Pacific: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, Wallis and Futuna Islands. These forests encompass an area of over 27,000 sq. km. or 10,000 sq. mi (Gawler).

http://www.south-seas-adventures.com/graphics/pacificmap.gif

            This Global ecoregion is made up of 9 terrestrial ecoregions: Cook Islands tropical moist forests; Fiji tropical dry forests; Fiji tropical moist forests; Tuamotu tropical moist forests; Tongan tropical moist forests; Society Islands tropical moist forests; Samoan tropical moist forests; Marquesas tropical moist forests; and Tubuai tropical moist forests (Gawler).

             The terrestrial ecoregion I am going to be focusing on is the ....

Tropical Dry Forests of Fiji

http://www.geog.ucla.edu/tdfpacific/fiji.html

Before and After

            The South Pacific islands of Fiji used to be covered in tropical moist and dry forests (Gawler). The forests’ relative isolation, large size and complex topography and unusual biogeographic history are the reasons why so much of the biodiversity on Fiji is endemic (Gawler). At one point in time, about one third of the land area of Fiji was covered with tropical dry forest. These forests which use to cover a little over 7500 sq. km., now only cover less than 100 sq. km. These forests can easily be categorized as being one of the most endangered habitats in the Pacific. Around 18,000 years ago, the tropical dry forests were at their peak. That is when the covered the most land, and since then these forests have continuously decreased in size (Gibbons & Clunie 1986; Southern 1986).

 NOW 

http://www.eoearth.org/files/116601_116700/116625/300px-Fiji_aerial_pic.jpg

http://www.eoearth.org/files/116601_116700/116626/250px-Remnant_dry_forest,_Viti_Levu,_Fiji.jpg

People's Impacts on the Ecosystem

Threats

            People's impact on these forest began a very long time ago. It first began with the arrival of the first native Polynesians and Melanesians who came 3,500 years ago (Hunt 1981; Diamond 1988). These dry forests are identified as critically endangered by The World Conservation Union, because they have been reduced to less than one percent of their original extent. 

          
            In recent times, agriculture and commercial logging result in the largest loss of habitat. Another big problem is the introduction of non-native species which have caused many native species to go extinct. These native species are going extinct because the natural order of the ecosystem is being reconstructed.

            Also another group that greatly damaged these dry forest are the Europeans. These settlers burned the forests which resulted in heavy erosion destroying the soil and land. Many parts of the areas were turned into sugar cane plantations or grazing lands. From the table below, it is apparent that all of the plantations are for industrial use and that can be very damaging to the environment.

Protected Areas and Their Statuses

                There is only one site that is protected on a national level in Fiji and that is Yadua Taba. This island contains small bits of native forests and has the largest population of crested iguanas. Some methods used to preserve these forests include the suppression of fire and the removal of non-native species. The Yadua Taba site is managed by rangers from Yadua's partnership with the National Trust of Fiji Islands with support from the Taronga Zoo, Australia.

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Future and Our Role

             From the research I have conducted, in my opinion, I believe the future for the tropical dry forests of Fiji does not look very bright. I have come to this conclusion because there is very limited research on these forests, and they have already been deemed critically endangered. I could very well see these tropical dry forests being extinct in Fiji within the next two decades.

          Some methods are already in place to help the preservation of the forests. One already set in place is by WWF's Forests, Marine, and Freshwater who developed the WWF Fiji Forestry Programme, which taught locals the skills they need for survival while also protecting and preserving the endagered vesi tree.

           There is only one location that is protected which leaves all other tropical dry forests sites in Fiji vulnerable to fire, grazing, and invasion of non-native species. Special attention needs to be given to the island of Viti Levu which has the highest species richness and endemism of all native forests.

              But what I believe our number one priority should be is that more research needs to be done on these tropical dry forests. We need to identify and create an inventory of all the locations of these forests and manage them before they disappear. Only by raising awareness and gathering research regarding these dry forests, can we truly take the first step towards their preservation.

Dr. Gillespie and his team in Fiji researching Tropical Dry Forests

References

1. Gawler, Meg. "South Pacific Islands Forests." WWF. WWF-Canon, n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. <http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/southpacific_islands_forests.cfm>.

    2. "Tropical Dry Forests of the Pacific - Fiji." Geography Department at UCLA. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www.geog.ucla.edu/tdfpacific/fiji.html>.

    3. "A REVIEW OF THE FOREST REVENUE SYSTEM AND TAXATION OF THE FORESTRY SECTOR IN FIJI." FAO: FAO Home. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/af168e/af168e04.htm>.

    4. "Fiji Tropical Dry Forests." Encyclopedia of Earth. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Fiji_tropical_dry_forests>.

    5. "3. THE SOUTH PACIFIC FOREST RESOURCES." Asia Pacific Forestry Sector Outlook Study: Regional Study. N.p., 1997. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/W4354E/W4354E04.htm>.

   6. Gibbons JRH, Clunie G.A.U 1986. Sea level changes and Pacific prehistory. The Journal of

Pacific History 21: 58-82.


  7. Hunt TL 1981. New evidence for early horticulture in Fiji. The Journal of the Polynesian Society

90: 259-266.


  8. Diamond J 1988. Express train to Polynesia. Nature 336: 307-308.