Editing Hawaii (section)

===Terrestrial ecology===

The archipelago's extant main islands have been above the surface of the ocean for less than 10{{spaces}}million years, a fraction of the time [[biological colonization]] and evolution have occurred there. The islands are well known for the [[biodiversity|environmental diversity]] that occurs on high mountains within a trade winds field. Native Hawaiians developed complex horticultural practices to utilize the surrounding ecosystem for agriculture. Cultural practices developed to enshrine values of environmental stewardship and reciprocity with the natural world, resulting in widespread biodiversity and intricate social and environmental relationships that persist to this day.<ref name="LaDuke 1999">{{Cite book |last=LaDuke |first=Winona |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/41572567 |title=All our relations : native struggles for land and life |date=1999 |publisher=South End Press |isbn=0-89608-600-3 |location=Cambridge, MA |oclc=41572567}}</ref> On a single island, the climate around the coasts can range from dry tropical (less than {{convert|20|in|mm|disp=or|sp=us}} annual rainfall) to wet tropical; on the slopes, environments range from [[tropical rainforest]] (more than {{convert|200|in|mm|disp=or|sp=us}} per year), through a [[temperate climate]], to [[Mountain|alpine]] conditions with a cold, dry climate. The rainy climate impacts [[Soil mechanics|soil development]], which largely determines ground permeability, affecting the distribution of streams and [[wetlands]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fletcher |first1=Charles H. |last2=Murray-Wallace |first2=Colin V. |last3=Glenn |first3=Craig R. |last4=Sherman |first4=Clark E. |last5=Popp |first5=Brian |last6=Hessler |first6=Angela |title=Age and Origin of Late Quaternary Eolianite, Kaiehu Point (Moomomi), Molokai, Hawaii |journal=Journal of Coastal Research |date=2005 |pages=97–112 |jstor=25736978 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-1-4831-9842-2.50022-5 |chapter=Halloysite and Gibbsite Formation in Hawaii |title=Clays and Clay Minerals |year=1962 |last1=Bates |first1=Thomas F. |pages=315–328 |isbn=978-1-4831-9842-2 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70160871 |title=Geology and ground-water resources of the island of Kauai, Hawaii |journal=Hawaii Division of Hydrography Bulletin |volume = 13|first1=Gordon A. |last1=Macdonald |first2=Dan A. |last2=Davis |first3=Doak C. |last3=Cox |date=May 27, 1960 |page=3 |bibcode=1960usgs.rept....3M |via=pubs.er.usgs.gov}}</ref>