Throughout history, attempts by foreigners to encourage commercial agriculture in the Pacific Islands through monoculture (single cropping) have threatened fragile island environments. Large scale land clearing and the use of fertilizers and pesticides have caused erosion, pollution, loss of biodiversity, and depletion of precious soils. Introducing new crops to these communities has resulted in the loss of native crops, harm to native species, and the elimination of traditional mixed farming methods.
The Pacific Islands have unique and fragile ecosystems, many of which are endangered by modern agricultural practices. The islands can be divided into two main types: the high islands, which are generally volcanic islands, and the atolls, or low islands. Volcanic lava wears down rapidly and provides fertile soil for cultivation. Atolls are low-lying coral reefs, which generally have an inadequate supply of fresh water and poor soils.
Coconuts, which can grow in poor soil and ripen throughout the year, are one of the few crops that thrive on the low islands. Coconuts are an important source of nutritious food and are easy to store. The meat of the coconut can be dried into a product called copra, which is pressed to make multipurpose oils.
Islands vary greatly in the amounts of rainfall they receive, the steepness of their slopes, and their varieties of plant life. Differences in rainfall and vegetation also exist on different parts of the same island. For example, one side of the island of Hawaii has one of the driest deserts on earth, whereas a few miles away on the other side of the island is a tropical rain forest.
Melanesian Islands
These fairly large islands are located to the northeast of Australia. They are quite damp, have a hot climate, and display a mountainous terrain covered with dense vegetation.
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Micronesian Islands
Micronesia comprises thousands of relatively small islands located along the equator in the central Pacific Ocean and up to 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) north of the equator in the western Pacific Ocean.
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Polynesia
Polynesia comprises a diverse set of islands lying within a triangular area having corners at New Zealand, the Hawaiian Islands, and Easter Island.
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New Zealand
About the size of Colorado, New Zealand is divided into two large islands and numerous smaller islands. About 50 percent of its land is in permanent pasture.
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See also: PACIFIC ISLAND FLORA
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