Shifting Cultivation And The Environment When slash and burn agriculture involves deforestation of massive tracts of forest and use of unsustainable practices, it leads to loss of biodiversity and permanent degradation of the forest quality. Much like with seasons, there are various stages to this form of farming, and the process is not done in one fell swoop, cutting down entire forests and replanting them immediately. The process of shifting cultivation, however, is based on maintaining a sustainable, balanced form of farming that rotates and “shifts” within a given area, in order to allow the natural habitat to recuperate. These new farm lands are then usually planted with a single crop that is cultivated on that land until the soil is depleted of all viable nutrients. In the negative cases, large scale forests - often rainforests - are cut and cleared to make room for huge agricultural plots. The term slash and burn does sound harsh and destructive, but this farming technique, also known as shifting cultivation, can be extremely fruitful and sustainable if done correctly.The harsh cutting that is so often associated with slash and burn, is actually not at all the same practice. The practice has sometimes been associated with mass cutting, clearing and deforestation, but in fact “slash and burn” agriculture has a long standing history. Slash and burn agriculture is a highly controversial and misunderstood practice.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |