Comparative Studies on Landscape Structure and Potential Productivity in Home Gardens, Southern Thailand

Abstract

Traditional home gardens in humid tropics provide a number of useful products such as food, fuel, and building materials. In addition, these are considered to imply a sustainable land use system. The objective of this study was to recognize land potential productivity with comparison of landscape structures of home gardens in Narathiwat Province, Southeast Thailand. Sixteen home gardens were selected in four different land classification types, namely foot slope, high upland and two offshore bars. Species composition and species diversity were compared among each land classification type. The results were as follows: i) there was significant difference in species composition along land classification types; II) Shannon-Wiener's species diversity index by tree volume was higher on foot slope and high upland than on offshore bars. Although land potential productivity might be lower on offshore bars as concerned with biomass products, a great number of unique species was maintained in shrub layer. We concluded that it would be possible to establish newly land use system based on traditional home garden system.