Abstract
In Indonesia, villagers have developed sustainable, biologically diversified land use systems called "home gardens (Pekarangan)" or "mixed gardens (Kebun)." There are many reports, however, that such "traditional" types of farming systems have changed due to recent rapid rural socioeconomic changes, such as the introduction of cash crops. Based on the case study in Lampung, Indonesia, this study examined what these cash crops have affected crop diversity and biomass accumulation in mixed gardens. We analyzed the list of planted species, the characteristics of the vegetation pattern, and the relationship among cash crops, species number and biomass. The study found that the mixed gardens in the study area still maintained a relatively diversified species composition and structure, though cash crops such as coffee and cacao dominated to some extent. The number of species in mixed gardens tends to decrease as the ratio of cacao trees increases, while it has no significant correlations with the ratio of coffee trees. Regarding the relationship between household income and proxy of biomass in the mixed gardens, we could divide the samples into three groups: 1) low income - low biomass group, 2) low income - high biomass group, and 3) high income - middle biomass group. The above results suggest that the expansion of cash crops does not necessarily bring about simple and rapid unification of species in mixed gardens, and the change of mixed gardens follows path-dependent and gradual processes which reflect regional variations, villagers' preferences and livelihood strategies.
