Current Research

Long-term research: how ecosystem structure, function, dynamics, and composition respond to stressors and change.

Enhancing platforms for research, monitoring and science exchange.

Restoration Ecology: Restoring ecosystem services in the Anthropocene.

Ecosystem level impacts of invasive species on Hawaiian forest ecosystems.

Biocultural Science and Stewardship.

Research Interests

Ecophysiology, Restoration Ecology, Functional Ecology, Tropical Dry Ecosystems, Grass Invasions, Hawaiian Ecosystems

Future Research

Continue developing research and collaborating with local communities to advance effective conservation, preservation, and restoration-related land management efforts.

Why This Research is Important

These research themes represent an articulation of future Institute research and our vision to continue developing next generation understanding of landscape change, testing of conservation based tools, facilitating the production of knowledge to improve the ecological condition of native ecosystems of the Pacific, enhance the sustainability of resource use in our region, and maintain the quality of life for those in our Pacific community. Institute Scientists have identified research themes as representing the frontiers of natural resources science and management in Hawai‘i and the US Affiliated Pacific, but also frontiers in tropical ecology and natural resources science broadly.

Education

• University of Hawaii, Ph.D. Botany 1999
• University of Hawaii, M.S. Botany 1996
• Santa Barbara, B.A. Aquatic Biology 1987

Professional Experience

Professional Organizations

• Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Member (2012 - Current)
• IUCN Species Survival Commission, Member (2011 - Current)
• Ecological Society of America, Member (2007 - Current)
• Organization for Tropical Studies, Officeholder (2004 - Current)
• American Geophysical Union, Member (2003 - Current)
• Society for Ecological Restoration, Member (2000 - Current)
• Botanical Society of America, Member (1994 - Current)

Publications

• Menge, Duncan N. L.; Chisholm, Ryan A.; Davies, Stuart J.; Abu Salim, Kamariah ; Allen, David ; Alvarez, Mauricio ; Bourg, Norm ; Brockelman, Warren Y.; Bunyavejchewin, Sarayudh ; Butt, Nathalie ; Cao, Min ; Chanthorn, Wirong ; Chao, Wei‐Chun ; Clay, Keith ; Condit, Richard ; Cordell, Susan ; Silva, João Batista; Dattaraja, H. S.; Andrade, Ana Cristina Segalin; Oliveira, Alexandre A.; den Ouden, Jan ; Drescher, Michael ; Fletcher, Christine ; Giardina, Christian P.; Savitri Gunatilleke, C. V; Gunatilleke, I. A. U. Nimal; Hau, Billy C. H.; He, Fangliang ; Howe, Robert ; Hsieh, Chang‐Fu ; Hubbell, Stephen P.; Inman‐Narahari, Faith M.; Jansen, Patrick A.; Johnson, Daniel J.; Kong, Lee Sing; Král, Kamil ; Ku, Chen‐Chia ; Lai, Jiangshan ; Larson, Andrew J.; Li, Xiankun ; Li, Yide ; Lin, Luxiang ; Lin, YiChing ; Liu, Shirong ; Lum, Shawn K. Y.; Lutz, James A.; Ma, Keping ; Malhi, Yadvinder ; McMahon, Sean ; McShea, William ; Mi, Xiangcheng ; Morecroft, Michael ; Myers, Jonathan A.; Nathalang, Anuttara ; Novotny, Vojtech ; Ong, Perry ; Orwig, David A.; Ostertag, Rebecca ; Parker, Geoffrey ; Phillips, Richard P.; Abd. Rahman, Kassim ; Sack, Lawren ; Sang, Weiguo ; Shen, Guochun ; Shringi, Ankur ; Shue, Jessica ; Su, Sheng‐Hsin ; Sukumar, Raman ; Sun, I‐Fang ; Suresh, H. S.; Tan, Sylvester ; Thomas, Sean C.; Toko, Pagi S.; Valencia, Renato ; Vallejo, Martha I; Vicentini, Alberto ; Vrška, Tomáš ; Wang, Bin ; Wang, Xihua ; Weiblen, George D.; Wolf, Amy ; Xu, Han ; Yap, Sandra ; Zhu, Li ; Fung, Tak . 2019. Patterns of nitrogen fixing tree abundance in forests across Asia and America.
• Rayome, Donald ; DiManno, Nicole ; Ostertag, Rebecca ; Cordell, Susan ; Fung, Bryson ; Vizzone, Anthony ; Pante, Pauleen ; Tate, Reuben . 2019. Restoring Ecosystem Services Tool (REST): a program for selecting species for restoration projects using a functional-trait approach.
• Medeiros, Camila D.; Scoffoni, Christine ; John, Grace P.; Bartlett, Megan K.; Inman-Narahari, Faith ; Ostertag, Rebecca ; Cordell, Susan ; Giardina, Christian ; Sack, Lawren . 2018. An extensive suite of functional traits distinguishes Hawaiian wet and dry forests and enables prediction of species vital rates.
• Johnson, Daniel J.; Needham, Jessica ; Xu, Chonggang ; Massoud, Elias C.; Davies, Stuart J.; Anderson-Teixeira, Kristina J.; Bunyavejchewin, Sarayudh ; Chambers, Jeffery Q.; Chang-Yang, Chia-Hao ; Chiang, Jyh-Min ; Chuyong, George B.; Condit, Richard ; Cordell, Susan ; Fletcher, Christine ; Giardina, Christian P.; Giambelluca, Thomas W.; Gunatilleke, Nimal ; Gunatilleke, Savitri ; Hsieh, Chang-Fu ; Hubbell, Stephen ; Inman-Narahari, Faith ; Kassim, Abdul Rahman; Katabuchi, Masatoshi ; Kenfack, David ; Litton, Creighton M.; Lum, Shawn ; Mohamad, Mohizah ; Nasardin, Musalmah ; Ong, Perry S.; Ostertag, Rebecca ; Sack, Lawren ; Swenson, Nathan G.; Sun, I Fang; Tan, Sylvester ; Thomas, Duncan W.; Thompson, Jill ; Umaña, Maria Natalia; Uriarte, Maria ; Valencia, Renato ; Yap, Sandra ; Zimmerman, Jess ; McDowell, Nate G.; McMahon, Sean M. 2018. Climate sensitive size-dependent survival in tropical trees.
• Longman, Ryan J.; Giambelluca, Thomas W.; Nullet, Michael A.; Frazier, Abby G.; Kodama, Kevin; Crausbay, Shelley D.; Krushelnycky, Paul D.; Cordell, Susan; Clark, Martyn P.; Newman, Andy J.; Arnold, Jeffrey R. 2018. Compilation of climate data from heterogeneous networks across the Hawaiian Islands.
• Lutz, James A.; Furniss, Tucker J.; Johnson, Daniel J.; Davies, Stuart J.; Allen, David ; Alonso, Alfonso ; Anderson-Teixeira, Kristina J.; Andrade, Ana ; Baltzer, Jennifer ; Becker, Kendall M. L.; Blomdahl, Erika M.; Bourg, Norman A.; Bunyavejchewin, Sarayudh ; Burslem, David F. R. P.; Cansler, C. Alina; Cordell, Susan; Giardina, Christian. 2018. Global importance of large-diameter trees.
• Craven, Dylan ; Knight, Tiffany ; Barton, Kasey ; Bialic-Murphy, Lalasia ; Cordell, Susan ; Giardina, Christian ; Gillespie, Thomas ; Ostertag, Rebecca ; Sack, Lawren ; Chase, Jonathan . 2018. OpenNahele: the open Hawaiian forest plot database.
• D'Antonio, Carla M.; Ostertag, Rebecca ; Cordell, Susan ; Yelenik, Stephanie . 2017. Interactions Among Invasive Plants: Lessons from Hawai i.
• LaManna, Joseph A.; Mangan, Scott A.; Alonso, Alfonso; Bourg, Norman A.; Brockelman, Warren Y.; Bunyavejchewin, Sarayudh; Chang, Li-Wan; Chiang, Jyh-Min; Chuyong, George B.; Clay, Keith; Condit, Richard; Cordell, Susan; Davies, Stuart J.; Furniss, Tucker J.; Giardina, Christian P.; Gunatilleke, I. A. U. Nimal; Gunatilleke, C. V. Savitri; He, Fangliang; Howe, Robert W.; Hubbell, Stephen P.; Hsieh, Chang-Fu; Inman-Narahari, Faith M.; Janík, David; Johnson, Daniel J.; Kenfack, David; Korte, Lisa; Král, Kamil; Larson, Andrew J.; Lutz, James A.; McMahon, Sean M.; McShea, William J.; Memiaghe, Hervé R.; Nathalang, Anuttara; Novotny, Vojtech; Ong, Perry S.; Orwig, David A.; Ostertag, Rebecca; Parker, Geoffrey G.; Phillips, Richard P.; Sack, Lawren; Sun, I-Fang; Tello, J. Sebastián; Thomas, Duncan W.; Turner, Benjamin L.; Vela Díaz, Dilys M.; Vrška, Tomáš; Weiblen, George D.; Wolf, Amy; Yap, Sandra; Myers, Jonathan A. 2017. Plant diversity increases with the strength of negative density dependence at the global scale.
• Inman-Narahari, Faith; Ostertag, Rebecca; Hubbell, Stephen P.; Giardina, Christian P.; Cordell, Susan; Sack, Lawren; MacDougall, Andrew. 2016. Density-dependent seedling mortality varies with light availability and species abundance in wet and dry Hawaiian forests.
• Cordell, Susan; Ostertag, Rebecca; Michaud, Jené; Warman, Laura. 2016. Quandaries of a decade-long restoration experiment trying to reduce invasive species: Beat them, join them, give up, or start over.
• Cordell, Susan; Questad, Erin J.; Asner, Gregory P.; Kinney, Kealoha M.; Thaxton, Jarrod M.; Uowolo, Amanda; Brooks, Sam; Chynoweth, Mark W. 2016. Remote sensing for restoration planning: how the big picture can inform stakeholders.
• Michaud, Jené; Cordell, Susan; Cole, T. Colleen; Ostertag, Rebecca. 2015. Drought in an invaded Hawaiian lowland wet forest.
• Friday, James B.; Cordell, Susan; Giardina, Christian P.; Inman-Narahari, Faith; Koch, Nicholas; Leary, James J. K.; Litton, Creighton M.; Trauernicht, Clay. 2015. Future directions for forest restoration in Hawai'i.
• Chynoweth, Mark W.; Lepczyk, Christopher A.; Litton, Creighton M.; Hess, Steven C.; Kellner, James R.; Cordell, Susan; Kumar, Lalit. 2015. Home range use and movement patterns of non-native feral goats in a tropical island montane dry landscape.
• Kinney, Kealohanuiopuna M.; Asner, Gregory P.; Cordell, Susan; Chadwick, Oliver A.; Heckman, Katherine; Hotchkiss, Sara; Jeraj, Marjeta; Kennedy-Bowdoin, Ty; Knapp, David E. 2015. Primary succession on a Hawaiian dryland chronosequence.
• Trauernicht, Clay; Pickett, Elizabeth; Giardina, Christian; Litton, Creighton M.; Cordell, Susan; Beavers, Andrew. 2015. The contemporary scale and context of wildfire in Hawai'i.
• Dendy, Julian; Cordell, Susan; Giardina, Christian P.; Hwang, Bernice; Polloi, Edwin; Rengulbai, Kashgar. 2015. The role of remnant forest patches for habitat restoration in degraded areas of Palau.
• Ostertag, Rebecca; Warman, Laura; Cordell, Susan; Vitousek, Peter M. 2015. Using plant functional traits to restore Hawaiian rainforest.
• Cavaleri, M.A.; Ostertag, R.; Cordell, S.; and Sack, L. 2014. Native trees show conservative water use relative to invasive: results from a removal experiment in a Hawaiian wet forest.
• Anderson-Teixeira, Kristina J.; Davies, Stuart J.; Bennett, Amy C.; Gonzalez-Akre, Erika B.; Muller-Landau, Helene C.; Joseph Wright, S.; Abu Salim, Kamariah; Almeyda Zambrano, Angélica M.; Alonso, Alfonso; Baltzer, Jennifer L.; Basset, Yves; Bourg, Norman A.; Broadbent, Eben N.; Brockelman, Warren Y.; Bunyavejchewin, Sarayudh; Burslem, David F. R. P.; Butt, Nathalie; Cao, Min; Cardenas, Dairon; Chuyong, George B.; Clay, Keith; Cordell, Susan; Dattaraja, Handanakere S.; Deng, Xiaobao; Detto, Matteo; Du, Xiaojun; Duque, Alvaro; Erikson, David L.; Ewango, Corneille E.N.; Fischer, Gunter A.; Fletcher, Christine; Foster, Robin B.; Giardina, Christian P.; Gilbert, Gregory S.; Gunatilleke, Nimal; Gunatilleke, Savitri; Hao, Zhanqing; Hargrove, William W.; Hart, Terese B.; Hau, Billy C.H.; He, Fangliang; Hoffman, Forrest M.; Howe, Robert W.; Hubbell, Stephen P.; Inman-Narahari, Faith M.; Jansen, Patrick A.; Jiang, Mingxi; Johnson, Daniel J.; Kanzaki, Mamoru; Kassim, Abdul Rahman; Kenfack, David; Kibet, Staline; Kinnaird, Margaret F.; Korte, Lisa; Kral, Kamil; Kumar, Jitendra; Larson, Andrew J.; Li, Yide; Li, Xiankun; Liu, Shirong; Lum, Shawn K.Y.; Lutz, James A.; Ma, Keping; Maddalena, Damian M.; Makana, Jean-Remy; Malhi, Yadvinder; Marthews, Toby; Mat Serudin, Rafizah; McMahon, Sean M.; McShea, William J.; Memiaghe, Hervé R.; Mi, Xiangcheng; Mizuno, Takashi; Morecroft, Michael; Myers, Jonathan A.; Novotny, Vojtech; de Oliveira, Alexandre A.; Ong, Perry S.; Orwig, David A.; Ostertag, Rebecca; den Ouden, Jan; Parker, Geoffrey G.; Phillips, Richard P.; Sack, Lawren; Sainge, Moses N.; Sang, Weiguo; Sri-ngernyuang, Kriangsak; Sukumar, Raman; Sun, I-Fang; Sungpalee, Witchaphart; Suresh, Hebbalalu Sathyanarayana; Tan, Sylvester; Thomas, Sean C.; Thomas, Duncan W.; Thompson, Jill; Turner, Benjamin L.; Uriarte, Maria; Valencia, Renato; Vallejo, Marta I.; Vicentini, Alberto; Vrška, Tomáš; Wang, Xihua; Wang, Xugao; Weiblen, George; Wolf, Amy; Xu, Han; Yap, Sandra; Zimmerman, Jess. 2014. CTFS-ForestGEO: a worldwide network monitoring forests in an era of global change.
• Ostertag, R.; Inman-Narahari, F.; Cordell, S.; Giardina, C.P.; Sack, L. 2014. Forest structure in low diversity tropical forests: a study of Hawaiian wet and dry forests.
• Broadbent, Eben N.; Zambrano, Angélica M. Almeyda; Asner, Gregory P.; Field, Christopher B.; Rosenheim, Brad E.; Kennedy-Bowdoin, Ty; Knapp, David E.; Burke, David; Giardina, Christian; Cordell, Susan. 2014. Linking rainforest ecophysiology and microclimate through fusion of airborne LiDAR and hyperspectral imagery.
• Questad, E.; Kellner, J.R.; Kinney, K.; Cordell, S.; Asner, G.P.; Thaxton, J.; Diep, J.; Uowolo, A.; Brooks, S.; Inman-Narahari, N.; Evans, S.; Tucker, B. 2014. Mapping habitat suitability for at-risk plants and its implications for restoration and reintroduction.
• Schulten, Jodie R.; Cole, T. Colleen; Cordell, Susan; Publico, Keiko M.; Ostertag, Rebecca; Enoka, Jaime E.; Michaud, Jené D. 2014. Persistence of Native Trees in an Invaded Hawaiian Lowland Wet Forest: Experimental Evaluation of Light and Water Constraints.
• Inman-Narahari, Faith; Ostertag, Rebecca; Asner, Gregory P.; Cordell, Susan; Hubbell, Stephen P.; Sack, Lawren. 2014. Trade-offs in seedling growth and survival within and across tropical forest microhabitats.
• Pierce, Andrew D.; McDaniel, Sierra; Wasser, Mark; Ainsworth, Alison; Litton, Creighton M.; Giardina, Christian P.; Cordell, Susan; Ohlemuller, Ralf. 2014. Using a prescribed fire to test custom and standard fuel models for fire behaviour prediction in a non-native, grass-invaded tropical dry shrubland.
• Chynoweth, Mark W.; Litton, Creighton M.; Lepczyk, Christopher A.; Hess, Steven C.; Cordell, Susan. 2013. Biology and impacts of Pacific island invasive species: Capra hircus, the feral goat, (Mammalia: Bovidae).
• Cram, Douglas; Cordell, Susan; Friday, James B.; Giardina, Christian; Litton, Creighton M.; Moller, Eric; Pickett, Elizabeth. 2013. Fire and drought in paradise Say it isn t so, Smokey.
• Inman-Narahari, Faith; Ostertag, Rebecca; Cordell, Susan; Giardian, Christian P.; Kehauwealani, Nelson-Kaula; Sack, Lawren. 2013. Seedling recruitment factors in low-diversity Hawaiian wet forest: towards global comparisons among tropical forests.
• Cordell, Susan. 2012. Former Hawaii Restoration Ecologist Now Favors 'Tinkering' Over Rigor. Review of Cabin, Robert J. 2011. Intelligent tinkering: bridging the gap between science and practice..
• Kellner, James R.; Asner, Gregory P.; Cordell, Susan; Thaxton, Jarrod M.; Kinney, Kealoha M.; Kennedy-Bowdoin, Ty; Knapp, David E.; Questad, Erin F.; Ambagis, Stephen. 2012. Historical land-cover classification for conservation and management in Hawaiian subalpine drylands.
• Thaxton, Jared M.; Cordell, Susan; Cabin, Robert J.; Sandquist, Darren R. 2012. Non-native grass removal and shade increase soil moisture and seedling performance during Hawaiian dry forest restoration.
• Questad, Erin J.; Thaxton, Jarrod M.; Cordell, Susan. 2012. Patterns and consequences of re-invasion into a Hawaiian dry forest restoration.
• Kellner, James R.; Asner, Gregory P.; Kinney, Kealoha M.; Loarie, Scott R.; Knapp, David E.; Kennedy-Bowdoin, Ty; Questad, Erin J.; Cordell, Susan; Thaxton, Jarrod M. 2011. Remote analysis of biological invasion and the impact of enemy release.
• Adkins, Edith N.; Cordell, Susan; Drake, Donald R. 2011. Role of fire in the germination ecology of fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum), an invasive African bunchgrass in Hawaii.
• Agoncillo, Oliver; Conje, Jennifer; Cordell, Susan; Halperin, James; Karia, Roopa; Lebow, Beth. 2011. Sustainable Landscapes Assessment for the Philippines.
• Inman-Narahari, Faith; Giardina, Christian; Ostertag, Rebecca; Cordell, Susan; Sack, Lawren. 2010. Digital data collection in forest dynamics plots.
• Chynoweth, Mark; Litton, Creighton M.; Lepczyk, Christopher A.; Cordell, Susan. 2010. Feral goats in the Hawaiian Islands: understanding the behavioral ecology of nonnative ungulates with GPS and remote sensing technology.
• Thaxton, Jarrod M.; Cole, T. Colleen; Cordell, Susan; Cabin, Robert J.; Sandquist, Darren R.; Litton, Creighton M. 2010. Native species regeneration following ungulate exclusion and nonnative grass removal in a remnant Hawaiian dry forest.
• Holl, K. D.; Zahawi, R. A.; Cole, R. J.; Ostertag, R.; Cordell, S. 2010. Planting seedlings in tree islands versus plantations as a large-scale tropical forest restoration strategy.
• Brooks, S.; Cordell, S.; Perry, L. 2009. Broadcast seeding as a potential tool to reestablish native species in degraded dry forest ecosystems in Hawaii.
• Ostertag, R.; Cordell, S.; Michaud, J.; Cole, T.C.; Schulten, J.R.; Publico, K.M.; Enoka, J.H. 2009. Ecosystem and restoration consequences of invasive woody species removal in Hawaiian lowland wet forest.
• Cordell, S.; Ostertag, R.; Rowe, B.; Sweinhart, L.; Vasquez-Radonic, L.; Michaud, J.; Cole, T.C.; Schulten, J.R. 2009. Evaluating barriers to native seedling establishment in an invaded Hawaiian lowland wet forest.
• Kling, Jim; Featured: Denslow, Julie; Johnson, Tracy; Cordell, Susan. 2008. Repelling invaders: Hawaiian foresters use ecology to counter invasive species.
• Cordell, Susan; Sandquist, D. R. 2008. The impact of an invasive African bunchgrass (Pennisetum setaceum) on water availability and productivity of canopy trees within a tropical dry forest in Hawaii.
• Cordell, Susan; McClellan, Moana; Yarber Carter, Yvonne; Hadway, Lisa J. 2008. Towards restoration of Hawaiian tropical dry forests: the Kaupulehu outplanting programme.
• Giardina, Christian P.; Litton, Creighton M.; Thaxton, Jarrod M.; Cordell, Susan; Hadway, Lisa J.; Sandquist, Darren R. 2007. Science driven restoration: A candle in a demon haunted world—response to cabin.

Research Highlights

Highlight	Title	Year
PSW-2012-19	Breaking the Grass-Fire Cycle in Dryland Ecosystems in Hawai'i Scientists develop practical tools to manage and restore tropical dry forest landscapes on military lands in the Pacific	2012
PSW-2017-177	Greenstrips in Hawaii protect high value ecosystems from fire The purpose of the greenstrip study was to test a tool that has been used in parts of the arid continental U.S. to protect high value ecosystems ...	2017
PSW-2011-08	Hawaii Vegetation Fire Risk Web Tool Fires in Hawai'i are fueled mainly by invasive, perennial grasses, since they maintain aboveground live and senescent biomass throughout the yea ...	2011
PSW-2012-16	Pacific Fire Exchange Is the Hottest Partnership in the Pacific A new collaboration promotes and uses the best available science to reduce wildfire management costs and improve land managers' ability to prote ...	2012