Is productivity of cacao impeded by epiphytes? An experimental approach
- 作者：S. Goda Sporn ; Merijn M. Bos ; S. Robbert Gradstein
- 关键词：Agroforestry ; Biodiversity conservation ; Bryophytes ; Fruit-set success ; Pollination ; Theobroma cacao
- 刊名：Agriculture ; Ecosystems & Environment
- 出版年：2007
- 期刊代码：6_01678809
- 类别：abs
- 出版时间：December 2007
- 卷：122
- 期：4
- 页码：490-493
- 文件大小：110 K
摘要
The impact of epiphytes on cacao productivity was investigated in agroforests in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Effects of epiphyte removal on fruit-set success and eventual yields were studied on 80 trees in an experiment with a balanced full factorial design. The removal treatment had no significant effect on the eventual harvest of the cacao trees. Pollinator availability had the greatest impact on fruit-set success, whereas yields were mainly determined by site-specific factors that mediate fruit-abortion and occurrence of fungal diseases. The results illustrate that epiphytic flora dominated by non-vascular species may have no effects on cacao tree functioning and removal of non-vascular epiphytes is unnecessary for improving the productivity of cacao. Hence, farmers’ labour can be reduced and conservation of the rich biodiversity outside natural forests supported.