ABSTRACT
Islands are useful places to consider agricultural intensification because their limited size makes agricultural production very sensitive to population growth. The people of Yap Island have addressed the need to provide food for a growing population through a diverse set of adaptations, including intensification of shifting agriculture and the development of site-stable tree garden and taro patch agroforestry systems (Falanruw 1985, 1990). Agricultural activities are carried out in a range of wild to domestic habitats. At the wild end of the spectrum, bulbils of Dioscorea alata or bits of D. nummularia yams are placed in slightly dibbled soil within the forest and left to grow for some years with little attention, then harvested with little disturbance of the forest. At the other end of the spectrum, a wide variety of crops such as Cyrtosperma chamissonis taro, breadfruit, bananas, Inocarpus fagiferus nuts, betel nut, and Citrus spp. are harvested from year to year from almost completely domesticated agroforests where there is no fallow. However, in spite of the efficacy of the agroforestry system, shifting systems are still used as well. This chapter focuses on indigenous strategies for managing the fallow of the shifting systems, where gardens are alternated with wild or semiwild vegetation.
