• Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are keystone symbionts of agricultural soils but agricultural intensification has negatively impacted AMF communities. Increasing crop diversity could ameliorate some of these impacts by positively affecting arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. However, the underlying relationship between plant diversity and AMF community composition has not been fully resolved. • We examined how greater crop diversity affected AMF across farms in an intensive agricultural landscape, defined by high nutrient input, low crop diversity, and high tillage frequency. We assessed AMF communities across 31 field sites that were either monocultures or polycultures (growing >20 different crop types) in three ways: (1) richness, (2) diversity, and (3) composition. We also determined root colonization across these sites. • We found polycultures drive the available AMF community into richer and more diverse communities while soil properties structure AMF community composition. AMF root colonization did not vary by farm management (monocultures versus polycultures), but did vary by crop host. • We demonstrate that crop diversity enriches AMF communities, counteracting the negative effects of agricultural intensification on AMF, providing the potential to increase agroecosystem functioning and sustainability.

E ulu ē E ulu kini o ke Akua Ulu a‘e ‘o Kāne me Kanaloa Ulu ka ‘Ōhi‘a a lau ka wai Ka ‘Ie‘ie Ulu a‘e ke Akua a noho i kona kahu Eia ka wai lā He wai ola E ola ia‘u i ke kumu E ola i ke po‘o, ke po‘o pua‘a E ola i ka pae, ka paepae E ola i nā haumana, nā haumana a pau ‘Eli‘eli kapu, ‘eli‘eli noa In this Pule Ho‘oulu (prayer for inspiration), we are calling ourselves and you, the reader, to embrace growth and perpetuation of life’s many sacred manifestations, to honour the guardians of our places and the sources of our knowledge, and affirm the profound responsibility that is conservation management. This chant initiates the process of kuahu, an altar of Native Hawaiian spiritual practice within Hālau ‘Ōhi‘a, a ritual-based stewardship program in Hawai‘i led by Kumu (master teacher, a primary holder and source of knowledge for the community) Kekuhi Kealiikanakaoleohaililani. This paper outlines how the kuahu process has advanced learner capacity to embrace the many sacred dimensions of resource stewardship, thereby transforming conservation biology, and related conservation practices, through Indigenous perspectives. We examine themes evoked during the kuahu process at scales spanning the universal, the regional, and the personal. In doing so, we describe how kuahu practice can serve as a coparticipant, catalyst, and portal to sacred conservation, allowing learners to engage and grow more personal relationships with the environment, our communities, and ourselves.

A history of agriculture and socio-cultural formation has led to a complex local food system in Hawai‘i. Customary agricultural systems built by Kānaka ‘Ōiwi (Indigenous Hawaiian) are now rested within a landscape filled with many different crops tended by farmers from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. Value systems dictating farming practices and crop selling decisions differ. In Hawai'i, values of food security or food sovereignty are of particular importance, especially as growing movements seek to increase local production and decrease the state's reliance on imported food in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we systematically compare two different groups of farmers in Hawai'i and their values related to production and distribution. We then analyze the experiences of these two groups of farmers during the COVID-19 pandemic and their responses to them. The study is based on interviews with 22 Indigenous Kānaka ‘Ōiwi (IF) and Non-Indigenous local farmers (LF) from the island of O‘ahu. Ninety percent of IF say values associated with both food security and sovereignty drive their production and distribution decisions, while 75% of LF describe food security as the sole driver. Sixty percent of IF follow a non-profit economic model and emphasize cultural and educational values in their production decisions. LF follow profit-driven models and emphasize the influence the market has in their decisions. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, IF sold or donated the bulk of their crops to the local community through farm pickups, while restaurants were the primary buyers of LF crops. During the pandemic, the local community continues to be the primary recipient for IF, and due to the closure of many restaurants, LF have pivoted their sales to the community as well. Farmer interviews are augmented by three interviews with Hawai'i food system experts and relevant literature to suggest multiple pathways state agencies and local organizations could implement to support farmers from different backgrounds through COVID-19 and into the future.