Introduction of pollination service towards the balancing of palm plantation farming and tropical ecosystem conservation

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25870462
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Conservation of biological resources; Environmental and ecological symbiosis
• Research Institution: Hiroshima University
• Principal Investigator: KONDO TOSHIAKI 広島大学, 国際協力研究科, 特任准教授 (40391106)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 生態系サービス / 熱帯雨林 / オイルパームプランテーション

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Due to the expansion of oil palm plantation, it is predicted that more than half of tropical rainforest remnants are disappeared by 2050. One of the possible solutions to deforestation is utilization of pollination service from forest remnants. Because oil palm cannot grow on wet soil condition, there are some forest remnants along rivers in plantation and they facilitate animal movement between fragmented forests. Furthermore, several wild insects in forest remnants would assist the pollination instead of alien African weevils which were introduced into plantation for palm seed production.
In this study, we compared pollinator compositions between ordinary plantation and plantation with forest remnants. Although only African weevils were observed in ordinary plantation, several wild insects assisted the pollination of oil palm in plantation with forest remnants. Thus, utilization of pollination service contributes to palm plantation farming, as well as tropical ecosystem conservation.

Free Research Field

分子生態学