Diversity, structure, and application of self organizing map on plant species in homegardens

The high diversity of plant species in homegardens contributes to the provision of a range of goods and services, as well as considerably benefiting the environment and boosting ecological sustainability. Despite their importance, homegardens in Malaysia have not been systematically studied. This paper explores the diversity of useful plant species in Malaysian homegardens, as well as their vertical structure. The effect of the size of homegardens and socio-economic variables on the diversity of plants species were also investigated by using Self Organizing Map, a type of machine learning method. In total, 207 species of useful plants distributed among 169 genera and 78 families were recorded. At the species level, Musa paradisiaca L. had the highest frequency, while Euphorbiaceae had the highest at the family level. The vertical structure of homegardens was divided into five distinct layers: herbaceous layer, shrub layer, understory layer, canopy layer and emergent layer. Plant diversity is influenced by the size of homegardens and socioeconomic variables. As the size of the homegardens increased, as such increased the diversity of plant species. Lower-income households and worked in agriculture sectors that rely on homegrown food and medicinal plants are increasing the diversity of plant species in homegardens, highlighting the importance of these agroecosystems as a food security approach.

Automated summary

The high diversity of plant species in Malaysian homegardens contributes to the provision of various goods and services, benefiting the environment and promoting ecological sustainability. This paper explores the diversity and vertical structure of useful plant species in Malaysian homegardens, and investigates the impact of homegarden size and socio-economic variables on plant diversity using Self Organizing Map. The results show that plant diversity is influenced by homegarden size and socio-economic factors.