The Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Agriculture
The Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Agriculture (BEFTA) Programme aims to quantify the effect of incorporating habitat complexity within oil palm plantations on biodiversity and experimentally test the role of this biodiversity in ecosystem functioning and productivity.
Palm oil is among the most important sources of vegetable oil worldwide. With increasing demand as a feedstock for biofuel production, its global demand is set to increase. It is clear that forest conversion to oil palm plantation has severe impacts on biodiversity. However, little research has focused on methods that can be employed to maximise biodiversity within plantation habitats, nor the role this biodiversity plays in ecosystem functioning and crop production.
Working with the oil palm industry and an international team of collaborative researches, the projects aim to establish the role of biodiversity within tropical agro-ecosystems, which will support the development of improved oil palm management and industry-compatible biodiversity surveys and guides.
I just spent four months studying spiders in Sumatra, Indonesia
This blog post was written by Insect Ecology Group member Michael Pashkevich. Michael is a first-year PhD student who enjoys all-things spiders, cooking/eating delicious food from his hometown (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA), and spending time with his baby nephew. It’s been nearly four months since I was last in Cambridge.…
Restoring riparian areas in oil palm plantations, and an introduction to the RERTA Project
A blog post by BEFTA Programme and Insect Ecology Group postdoc Sarah Luke. Also posted at https://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/research-groups/insect-ecology/news Riparian zones are areas of land next to water bodies, including the banks of rivers, and streams, and the sides of lakes and ponds. They are a highly important habitat as they act as an…