The Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Agriculture (BEFTA) Programme
The BEFTA Programme investigates management strategies to support biodiversity and ecosystem processes in oil palm landscapes. The overall aim of the BEFTA Programme is to test whether increasing landscape structural complexity can enhance oil palm sustainability at little or no cost to yields and profitability. Uniquely, the BEFTA Programme is a collaboration between universities, research institutes, and the oil palm industry, ensuring that management practices are realistic and implementable by land managers.
A new paper from the BEFTA Programme considers the diversity of plant communities in oil palm plantations
By Sarah Luke Lead author Dedi Purnomo conducting plant surveys in ground and oil palm trunk quadrats. Photo credit: Jaka Irawan. A recent study conducted by members of the Insect Ecology Group and collaborators from Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology Institute (SMARTRI), Indonesia, is one of just a handful…
Attending the Student Conference on Conservation Science (SCCS)
A blog by Millie Hood, a BEFTA Researcher and PhD Candidate in the University of Cambridge’s Insect Ecology Group (Department of Zoology). I had a great time last week at the 20th Student Conference on Conservation Science (SCCS) here in Cambridge. There were so many amazing student talks that the…