ABSTRACT
Natural rubber, a renewable hydrocarbon, is becoming increasingly valuable as the petroleum upon which the manufacture of synthetic rubber depends increases in price and becomes depleted. Production of natural rubber also has a high natural resource conservation value in that the latex is derived from a perennial tree crop. Rubber latex, almost entirely a hydrocarbon, is oligotrophic; thus, its harvest incurs a lower net mineral loss from the ecosystem than most crops. Although rubber is grown in areas of high rainfall and often on steep terrain where the potential for severe erosion is high, the abundant supply of water stimulates undergrowth vegetation which, in turn, effectively reduces the effects of raindrop impact. Multicropping and mixed farming with rubber increases food self-sufficiency and reduces over-reliance on rubber monocultures. With precautions, intercropping while replanting rubber may be possible. Intercropping is usually uneconomical in rubber plantations established on newly-cleared forest land because of the presence of stumps, roots or logs.
