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Tropical dry forests are among the Earth's most threatened ecosystems. On the Island of Hawaii the African bunchgrass Pennisetum setaceum (fountain grass) dominates the understorey of the few remaining fragments of native dry forests and is contributing to the degradation of this once diverse ecosystem. In this study, we examined the impacts of Pennisetum on water use and productivity of the dominant native canopy tree, Diospyros sandwicensis.

Over a 3‐year period, measurements were made on tree growth rates, and physiological and morphological responses of the most common dry forest native tree, D. sandwicensis, growing with an understorey dominated by Pennisetum, and on trees growing in plots maintained free of grasses.