Adapting to the Soil

Predicting the Relative Distribution of Traditional Hawaiian Rainfed Agroecology with Ecological Soil Thresholds

Dados Bibliográficos

ID19219331
AutoresThomas P Haensel (0000-0002-6828-9977, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, autor correspondente), Noa K Lincoln (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa)
Ano2026
Volume54
Fascículo2
Data de publicação2026-04-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoHuman Ecology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0300-7839 • E-ISSN: 1572-9915
EditoraSpringer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1007/s10745-026-00694-1
OpenAlexW7160014723
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas50

In pre-contact Hawaiian society, rainfed agroecological systems persisted across a spectrum of landscapes throughout the archipelago, with intensity varying with soil and water availability. Previous studies have developed geospatial models to predict the extent of these ancient rainfed systems using a conceptual model of soil fertility, assuming that more intensive cultivation forms require a higher soil fertility threshold. We adapted previous geospatial models for intensive rainfed, marginal rainfed, and agroforestry agriculture in pre-contact Hawai‘i by replacing the original conceptual model with an empirical ecological soil-threshold equation to predict soil fertility, and we evaluated the outcomes. Our geospatial models expanded coverage for both intensive and marginal rainfed agriculture across the islands, particularly on older soil substrates, and reduced coverage of agroforestry. The accuracy of our models is supported by archaeological validation points, overlap with remnant agricultural infrastructure, and historical accounts. We discuss the possibility that these rainfed agroecological systems may not be entirely discrete from one another, particularly at their boundaries. We also conceptualize ancient rainfed agroecological systems as existing on a spectrum of intensification and mixed-methods cultivation, suggesting that hard spatial boundaries between agroecological systems may not accurately reflect the complexity of traditional cultivation practices in ancient Hawai‘i

Agroecology · Distribution (mathematics) · Ecosystem · Soil water · Vegetation (pathology) · Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory · Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies