Spatial patterns of seasonal crop production suggest coordination within and across dryland agricultural systems of Hawaiʻi Island
Hawaiian dryland agriculture is believed to have played an important role in the rise of archaic states and consolidation of political power. At the same time, the sensitivity of agricultural production in dryland field systems to temporal variability in climate would have had implications for econo...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Resilience Alliance
2018-10-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol23/iss3/art20/ |
| _version_ | 1818825041067900928 |
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| author | Aurora K. Kagawa-Viviani Noa Kekuewa. Lincoln Seth Quintus Matthew P. Lucas Thomas W. Giambelluca |
| author_facet | Aurora K. Kagawa-Viviani Noa Kekuewa. Lincoln Seth Quintus Matthew P. Lucas Thomas W. Giambelluca |
| author_sort | Aurora K. Kagawa-Viviani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hawaiian dryland agriculture is believed to have played an important role in the rise of archaic states and consolidation of political power. At the same time, the sensitivity of agricultural production in dryland field systems to temporal variability in climate would have had implications for economic and political relationships, both competitive and cooperative. In this study, we explore whether and how annual cycles of climate might have constrained seasonal cultivation and crop production in three rain-fed field systems on the Island of Hawaiʻi. We utilized a recently developed monthly gridded climate dataset for the Hawaiian Islands to compare the Kohala, Kona, and Kaʻū field systems in terms of mean annual climate and seasonality. We found that despite superficial similarities in elevation and annual rainfall, the field systems differ in climatic variables associated with evaporative water loss and in the timing of the rainy season. Aridity, a ratio of evaporative demand to rainfall, is strongly seasonal for Kohala and Kaʻū relative to Kona. When we imposed temperature and moisture criteria to visualize seasonal cultivation envelopes defined for sweet potato (Ipomea batatas), we found strong spatial patterns associated with the onset and length of the growing season, and these suggest seasonal complementarity in crop production within and between field systems. This complementarity indicates coordination both within and between field systems through consolidation, coercion, or increased cooperation could have alleviated periodic food stress and contributed to more stable political hierarchies, which may explain similarities in their respective chronologies of development. We suggest that our approach for characterizing seasonal constraints to dryland cultivation provides a useful tool for advancing continued restoration and research in these and other rain-fed dryland systems across Hawaiʻi and the tropics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T00:05:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0d15526937c14257bf34680813e784e5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1708-3087 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T00:05:27Z |
| publishDate | 2018-10-01 |
| publisher | Resilience Alliance |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-0d15526937c14257bf34680813e784e52022-12-21T20:46:15ZengResilience AllianceEcology and Society1708-30872018-10-012332010.5751/ES-10369-23032010369Spatial patterns of seasonal crop production suggest coordination within and across dryland agricultural systems of Hawaiʻi IslandAurora K. Kagawa-Viviani0Noa Kekuewa. Lincoln1Seth Quintus2Matthew P. Lucas3Thomas W. Giambelluca4Department of Geography and Environment, University of HawaiʻTropical Plant and Soil Sciences Department, University of HawaiʻDepartment of Anthropology, University of HawaiʻNatural Resources and Environmental Management Department, University of HawaiʻDepartment of Geography and Environment, University of HawaiʻHawaiian dryland agriculture is believed to have played an important role in the rise of archaic states and consolidation of political power. At the same time, the sensitivity of agricultural production in dryland field systems to temporal variability in climate would have had implications for economic and political relationships, both competitive and cooperative. In this study, we explore whether and how annual cycles of climate might have constrained seasonal cultivation and crop production in three rain-fed field systems on the Island of Hawaiʻi. We utilized a recently developed monthly gridded climate dataset for the Hawaiian Islands to compare the Kohala, Kona, and Kaʻū field systems in terms of mean annual climate and seasonality. We found that despite superficial similarities in elevation and annual rainfall, the field systems differ in climatic variables associated with evaporative water loss and in the timing of the rainy season. Aridity, a ratio of evaporative demand to rainfall, is strongly seasonal for Kohala and Kaʻū relative to Kona. When we imposed temperature and moisture criteria to visualize seasonal cultivation envelopes defined for sweet potato (Ipomea batatas), we found strong spatial patterns associated with the onset and length of the growing season, and these suggest seasonal complementarity in crop production within and between field systems. This complementarity indicates coordination both within and between field systems through consolidation, coercion, or increased cooperation could have alleviated periodic food stress and contributed to more stable political hierarchies, which may explain similarities in their respective chronologies of development. We suggest that our approach for characterizing seasonal constraints to dryland cultivation provides a useful tool for advancing continued restoration and research in these and other rain-fed dryland systems across Hawaiʻi and the tropics.http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol23/iss3/art20/aridityHawaiʻihuman-environment interactionrain-fed agricultureseasonalitysweet potato |
| spellingShingle | Aurora K. Kagawa-Viviani Noa Kekuewa. Lincoln Seth Quintus Matthew P. Lucas Thomas W. Giambelluca Spatial patterns of seasonal crop production suggest coordination within and across dryland agricultural systems of Hawaiʻi Island Ecology and Society aridity Hawaiʻ i human-environment interaction rain-fed agriculture seasonality sweet potato |
| title | Spatial patterns of seasonal crop production suggest coordination within and across dryland agricultural systems of Hawaiʻi Island |
| title_full | Spatial patterns of seasonal crop production suggest coordination within and across dryland agricultural systems of Hawaiʻi Island |
| title_fullStr | Spatial patterns of seasonal crop production suggest coordination within and across dryland agricultural systems of Hawaiʻi Island |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spatial patterns of seasonal crop production suggest coordination within and across dryland agricultural systems of Hawaiʻi Island |
| title_short | Spatial patterns of seasonal crop production suggest coordination within and across dryland agricultural systems of Hawaiʻi Island |
| title_sort | spatial patterns of seasonal crop production suggest coordination within and across dryland agricultural systems of hawai i island |
| topic | aridity Hawaiʻ i human-environment interaction rain-fed agriculture seasonality sweet potato |
| url | http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol23/iss3/art20/ |
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