Plant more than one crop per field (intercropping)

Overall effectiveness category Evidence not assessed
Number of studies: 1
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Effectiveness

not assessed
Certainty

not assessed
Harms

not assessed

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Modern agricultural fields normally only contain a single crop, making sowing and harvest easier for the farmer. However, for sedentary butterfly and moth species, this may reduce the availability of resources. Planting more than one crop per field may increase the diversity of resources available for butterflies and moths, enabling less mobile species in particular to make better use of the landscape.

For studies on increasing diversity across a farm or farmed landscape, see “Increase crop diversity across a farm or farmed landscape”.

Study locations

Key messages

One study evaluated the effects on butterflies and moths of planting more than one crop per field. The study was in Malaysia.

COMMUNITY RESPONSE (1 STUDY)

Community composition (1 study): One replicated, site comparison study in Malaysia found that smallholdings planted with oil palm and other crops did not differ in butterfly community composition from those planted with oil palm alone.
Richness/diversity (1 study): One replicated, site comparison study in Malaysia found that smallholdings planted with oil palm and other crops did not have greater butterfly species richness than those planted with oil palm alone.

POPULATION RESPONSE (1 STUDY)

Abundance (1 study): One replicated, site comparison study in Malaysia found that smallholdings planted with oil palm and other crops did not have higher overall butterfly abundance than those planted with oil palm alone.

BEHAVIOUR (0 STUDIES)

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A replicated, site comparison study in 2014 in 120 sites of agricultural land in Selangor, Malaysia (Asmah et al. 2017) found that smallholdings planted with oil palm and other crops (polyculture) did not differ in butterfly species richness, overall abundance or community composition from smallholdings planted with just oil palm (monoculture). There was no difference in the average number of butterfly species (polyculture: 4; monoculture: 3), overall number of individuals (polyculture: 29; monoculture: 36) or the composition of species between oil palm polycultures and monocultures (data presented as model results). Abundances of individual species in polycultures and monocultures were mixed and differences were not tested statistically (see paper for details). At 60 smallholdings oil palms were grown amongst other crops including bananas, coconuts, tapioca and sugar cane (polycultures), and at 60 oil palm was grown alone (monocultures). Smallholdings sampled were ≥300 m apart and mostly <5 ha in size. In January–August 2014, three fruit-baited traps were set ≥50 m apart from each other at each smallholding and operated for 12 h daily for three consecutive days, with regular checking. Butterflies caught were marked before release to avoid recounting. Each smallholding was sampled once.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Asmah S., Ghazali A., Syafiq M., Yahya M.S., Peng T.L., Norhisham A.R., Puan C.L., Azhar B. & Lindenmayer D.B. (2017) Effects of polyculture and monoculture farming in oil palm smallholdings on tropical fruit‐feeding butterfly diversity. Agricultural and Forest Entomology, 19, 70-80.

Please cite as:

Bladon A.J., Bladon, E. K., Smith R.K. & Sutherland W.J. (2023) Butterfly and Moth Conservation: Global Evidence for the Effects of Interventions for butterflies and moths. Conservation Evidence Series Synopsis. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Butterfly and Moth Conservation

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