Indigenous agroforestry of Pohnpei: 1. Plant species and cultivars

Plant species and cultivars of the indigenous agroforestry system of Pohnpei were surveyed in transects through 54 randomly-selected farms. The agroforestry system was characterized by extensive cultivation of yams (Dioscorea), aroids (Alocasia), and Piper methysticum under a permanent overstory of breadfruit, coconut, and forest remnant trees and a middle canopy of Hibiscus tiliaceus, Musa spp., and Morinda citrifolia. In the 10 ha of survey plots, 161 species were found, of which 102 were trees, shrubs, and crops and 59 were uncultivated herbaceous plants. Numbers of tree, shrub, and crop species per farm ranged from 16 to 37 with an average of 26. Twenty-eight breadfruit and 38 yam cultivars were found in the survey plots, showing that cultivar diversity is an important component of the biological diversity maintained and utilized in Pohnpeian agroforests.

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