Effect of land-use change and climate on coral calcification and geochemistry: A 253-year time series from west Maui

Abstract

Land-use change and climate variability both regulate land-based inputs of sediment and nutrient delivery to coral reefs, yet few records in Hawaii can identify when these land-based inputs began or how they have evolved through time. We present a 253-year (1760–2013) coral core record from Olowalu reef, Maui, spanning pre-colonial settlement through the rise and decline of sugarcane agriculture, water diversion, and modern coastal development. Trace element ratios (e.g., Ba/Ca, Y/Ca, P/Ca, Fe/Ca, Sr/Ca) and coral growth parameters document how watershed disturbance and climate variability have influenced reef conditions. Coral trace element records exhibit coherent variability at annual to decadal timescales consistent with El Niño–Southern Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation frequencies, suggesting climatic control on runoff and groundwater delivery. Superimposed on this natural variability, Ba/Ca, P/Ca, and Fe/Ca increased by 17–55% from the eighteenth century to the late twentieth century, with the largest increase occurring during the mid-1900s and coinciding with the maximum extent of Maui sugarcane plantations. These shifts indicate prolonged increases in sediment and nutrient inputs to the reef. Coral calcification increased by ~30% prior to ~1970 but declined thereafter, coincident with the peak sugarcane production. The negative correlation between coral calcification rate and terrigenous proxies (e.g., Ba/Ca, Y/Ca, P/Ca, and Fe/Ca) suggests that episodic terrestrial inputs from sugarcane plantations depressed coral calcification. This record provides the first pre-colonial to modern baseline for ridge-to-reef connectivity in Maui and demonstrates that historical land-use change has left a persistent geochemical imprint on the downstream reef ecosystem.