Ecological effects of the weed community in tea garden with intercropping white clover and straw mulching

Nowadays, chemical weeds control was applied to tea garden and its use increased year after year. Chemical weeds control application stimulates primary productivity of tea garden but also causes environmental pollution. Therefore, seeking a way to achieve a harmonious development between ecological and economic benefits for tea production has become a major issue to researchers.The present study investigatated the effect on the diversification of weed community, including weed abundance, dominance, evenness, biomass, and mean height after mulching straw and intercropping white clover in the tea plantation from 2005 to 2006. The results were as follows: 16 families and 31 species were found in total. In April, the dominant species characterized with slow growth, lower biomass, and less than 30 cm height; in July those who grow faster with higher biomass and height became dominant; In September, these malignant communities reduced, while the oxalis and diffusa characterized with lower biomass and low height gradually increased. In the three seasons, the weed abundance, community diversity and evenness increased, and the dominance, the biomass and average height of weeds remarkably reduced after intercropping white clover and muching straw. Therefore, it can be concluded that intercropping white clover and straw mulching is an effective ecological measure for weeds control.