DefinePK

Abstract

Epiphytes are one kind of plant that has an important role in oil palm plantation ecosystems. Growing on the stem of the tree, epiphytes provide an important source of energy and habitat for many creatures and microorganisms including arthropods. Because of this, the role of epiphytes in increase in the diversity of the canopy insect population in oil palm plantations needs to be calculated. The epiphyte population in oil palm plantations and the contribution it makes to this has yet to be studied extensively and there is no commonly agreed management strategy for epiphyte control. This research was conducted in five oil palm plantations in North Sumatera; Bukit Sentang, Padang Mandarsah, Ajamu, Sijambu-jambu dan Aek Pancur using fifty ha of trees ranging in age from six to fifteen years at each site. To establish the diversity of vascular epiphytes three 20 x20 meter plots were chosen in each location while the diversity of the canopy insects was measured in ten trees from the same sites using squares of cloth to collect the insects after the trees were sprayed with Deltamethrin spray. The epiphyte contribution to canopy insect diversity was investigated by removing all the epiphytes from some trees, cutting off half of them from others and leaving a third group of trees with epiphytes undisturbed. The result of this research shows that the diversity index for vascular epiphytes and canopy insects was in the moderate to low categories. Plantations where the epiphytes were undisturbed had a greater number and diversity of insects than those where the epiphytes had been reduced or eliminated completely.