BIODIVERSITY OF INTERCROPPED FIELDS IN CENTRAL AFRICAN RAINFORESTS

Abstract

This paper reports an example of agrobiodiversity in central African rainforests. In central Africa, people manage agriculture characterized by vegetative crops and shifting and intercropping culture. They plant many crop species and cultivars in a field simultaneously. Tolerated wild plants such as uncut trees and weeds also exist in fields. I found 29 species of uncut trees in 9 fields and 102 species of weeds in a field area of 750 m2. People recognize these wild plants well and assign utilities to most of them, such as medicine, food, and other useful materials. These domesticated and wild plants generate biodiversity in farmlands. This fact cannot be explained only by functional aspects; therefore, I attempted to clarify the cultural and historical background of the agrobiodiversity in this region.