Arboriculture in the Mussau Islands,Bismarck Archipelago

The Mussau Islanders of the Bismarck Archipelago in northeastern Papua New Guinea cultivate 26 indigenous tree species both for food and non-food uses in tree gardens surrounding the villages. Several trees which volunteer in these arboriculture zones are also tended and encouraged. I present ethnobotanical information on methods of cultivation, how and when the trees are harvested, preparation and use. The tree crop zone has a random spatial distribution overall, but some species within the zone are aggregated spatially. This clumping is related to the restricted habitat requirements of certain species, as well as individual species ’ reproductive traits. Coconut is the most frequent species in the arboriculture zone and is randomly distributed. Vertical stratification is attributable to the presence of a distinct herb layer and a subcanopy stratum of maturePandanus spp. The stratification of some species pairs results from the deliberate planting of subcanopy trees next to canopy trees. The introduction of exotic garden species and the increasing availability of western packaged foods is changing the composition of traditional Mussau Islands tree gardens.