Piper aduncum Fallows in the Lowlands of Papua New Guinea

Primary forest covers about 75% of Papua New Guinea. Every year about 200,000 ha are cleared for commercial operations, including logging, plantations, and subsistence agriculture. The latter mainly takes the form of shifting cultivation. In many parts of the humid lowlands, secondary fallow vegetation is dominated by the shrub Piper aduncum L (see color plate 20). It is not known exactly when and how P. aduncum invaded Papua New Guinea from its native Central America, but it was first recorded in the mid 1930s (Hartemink 2001). The invasion has been aggressive and it has spread in a similar fashion to Chromolaena odorata, which was introduced to Asia in the late 19th century.