Land use systems with less site disturbance and greater numbers of forest trees will contribute to habitat complexity and help mitigate against a loss of diversity. The jungle tea system, which is one type of indigenous agro-forestry practice carried out in the highlands, maintained high levels of ant species that were comparable with the diversity of natural forests and significantly greater than in other types of land use. Forest fallow land use also maintained an intermediate level of biodiversity, while annual crop field (cabbage) provided the lowest level of ant species richness. Thus, a sustainable land use system should be encouraged, involving agroforestry practices within the forest and land uses such as longer term forest fallow, to allow the natural recovery processes to occur after the agricultural disturbance. This approach will help to conserve biodiversity in the northern highlands without significantly altering the traditional agricultural practices of the indigenous people.