How much of Hawaiis ecosystems have been lost?
Some native ecosystem types have been very hard hit. For example, over 90% of Hawaiian lowland dry forests have been lost to fire, development, agriculture, or weed invasions. Other systems have been relatively little affected (alpine deserts on the summit of Mauna Loa, for example are very much as they were before humans). All told, perhaps half of the 150 ecosystem types are considered in trouble, imperilled by human-related changes in the landscape. Most of the loss has occurred along the coasts and in the lowlands, where the majority of human habitation exists today.
