Homegardens of Andaman and Nicobar, India

The study reports the influence of biophysical and socio-cultural factors on composition, diversity and distribution of plant species in the homegardens of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago of India. The study also examines component interactions and productivity of the system. Four hundred and thirty homegardens were surveyed from six islands, four from Andaman (South Andaman, North Andaman, Middle Andaman and Little Andaman) and two from Nicobar district (Car Nicobar and Nancowry). In Nicobar, an aboriginal tribe, the Nicobari, predominates. The Nicobaries are Christians. However, people from different parts of the Indian subcontinent were rehabilitated in the Andamans in the mid twentieth century. A mixed culture prevails in South Andaman, but in the other Andaman islands either Bengali or Tamil culture predominates. Biophysically, South Andaman is hilly whereas Nicobar is flat. The other islands lie in between the two extremes. All are similar climatically. Twelve to thirty-four plant species were encountered in the homegardens that were planted, cared for and harvested. These plants categorized as palm, fruit, spice and forest trees, formed a three-storey structure in Andaman and a two-storey structure in Nicobar’s homegardens. The floristic similarity between the homegardens of the Andamans was 82–92%. However, it was only 12–18% between the homegardens of Andaman and Nicobar. Compared to Nicobar, species richness was greater in the homegardens of the Andamans. However, diversity was higher and evenness lower in the homegardens of Nicobar. All plant species in the homegardens of Nicobar are spontaneous in regeneration. For the Andamans, the proportion of spice trees was higher in the homegardens of South Andaman, mango and citrus in North Andaman, and pineapple and vegetables in Little Andaman. High plant diversity in these homegardens serves subsistence needs and provides income to most of the households as well. Net income in the homegardens of Andaman was 6.9 times higher compared to that in the homegardens of Nicobar.