Where The Wild Things Were: Re-wilding and the Sixth Extinction - Biodiversity Conservation and Environmental Change - page 49

connections between populations that are presently isolated (Burney and Burney 2007). The
palaeoecological record shows that drier, coastal lowlands were once home to an indigenous
forest, which was cleared as these areas were favoured for settlement and agriculture. A forest
restoration project has now been successfully established on abandoned sugar cane plant-
ations (Burney et al. 2001).
The palaeoecological record also indicates that some rare species, currently associated
with unfavourable habitat like rocky cliffs and steep slopes, were once widespread but are
now restricted to areas that are less accessible to predators and people. For example, the cur-
rent distribution of Zanthoxylum and Kokia at high elevations was interpreted as indicative of
their need for wetter conditions, whereas the palaeo-record shows a formerly much wider
distribution, and a gradual retreat to inaccessible locations as preferred habitats in the low-
lands were lost (Burney and Burney 2007).
Palaeoecological records have also been used to identify locally extinct species and to
incentivize efforts to eradicate feral animals and further prevent the introduction of alien
species. For example, the palm tree, Pritchardia aylmer-robinsonii was extinct on Kauai'i but
its seeds and pollen were found in the pre-Polynesian sedimentary record, disappearing
soon after the introduction of Pacific rats ( Rattus exulans ), which feed on Pritchardia seeds.
Pritchardia has now been successfully reintroduced into rat free zones from the neighbour-
ing island of Niihau. The Nene or Hawaian goose ( Branta sandvicensis ) was reintroduced
from their last remaining stronghold on the Big Island (Burney and Burney 2007).
The National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) (<http://www.ntbg.org>) now routinely
uses palaeoecological studies to inform the restoration of areas cleared of alien invasive spe-
cies and from which native vegetation has been lost. A further benefit of restoration and
rewilding has been in providing educational and economic benefits to local communities
and visitors, who work on restoration projects, alongside experts from the NTBG and other
conservation bodies. Makauwahi Cave Reserve, for example, includes control of alien plants,
reintroduction of native and Polynesian species in abandoned agricultural fields, erosion
control, dune restoration, reintroduction of native wetland and riparian vegetation, cultural
artefacts, ethnographic accounts, and a demonstration garden including native and Polynes-
ian plants (Burney et al. 2001, Burney 2002). Some fields are used as nurseries, where plants
used in restoration projects, gardens, crafts, herbalism, and for genetic study can be extracted
sustainably, thus reducing pressure on wild populations and generating income. Elsewhere
on the island, visitors can see other sites of cultural and archaeological significance, includ-
ing agricultural terraces, prehistoric fishponds, and fragments of pristine forest, many of
which are situated alongside the palaeoecological sites that have proved so pivotal to the suc-
cess and authenticity of restoration efforts. Some restoration sites focus on old Hawaiian cul-
tivars of breadfruit, banana, coconut, sweet potatoes, and taro ( Colocasia esculenta ), thereby
restoring landscapes as they may have looked in early Polynesian times (Burney et al. 2001,
Burney 2002).
By showing the true potential distribution for many currently rare plants and habitats,
palaeoecology reveals a wider range of potentially viable reintroduction and restoration sites.
It also prevents misguided attempts to preserve the genetic 'purity' of small relict populations,