what is shifting agriculture

Which is true about shifting agriculture?

What is shifting agriculture? A form of agriculture in which an area of ground is cleared of vegetation and cultivated for a few years and then abandoned for a new area until its fertility has been naturally restored is said to be shifting agriculture. But it has a weak side because it is difficult to calculate the loss of forests caused by this.

What is the problem with shifting cultivation?

Shifting agriculture is also known as slash and burn cultivation. (i) Shifting agriculture is practiced by tribal communities of tropical forest lands. (ii) The people make a small clearing in the forest by cutting the trees and burning them. ADVERTISEMENTS: (iii) They cultivate the land for 2 to 3 years and when the natural fertility of the soil decreases they abandon the field and shift to a …

What is an example of shifting cultivation?

shifting agriculture or slash and burn a type of nonintensive agriculture, practised in tropical forests where soil fertilities are low. It involves the clearing and burning of existing vegetation in order to cultivate crops.

Why is shifting cultivation bad?

Shifting Agriculture also known as ‘Slash-and-Burn’ method is a very common practice of cultivation prevalence in countries such as India. In this method, farmers make a small clearing in the forest where the cultivation of crops is done solely dependent on monsoon rain for irrigation and natural fertility of soil.

What is shifting agriculture Short answer?

Shifting agriculture is a system of cultivation in which a plot of land is cleared and cultivated for a short period of time, then abandoned and allowed to revert to producing its normal vegetation while the cultivator moves on to another plot.

What is shifting agriculture class 10?

Shifting cultivation is an agricultural method in which plots of land are temporarily cultivated, then abandoned while fallow vegetation is permitted to grow freely after disturbance while the cultivator moves on to another plot.

What is shifting agriculture class 9?

Complete Answer: Shifting cultivation refers to the form of agricultural practice in which a particular land is cleared of its vegetation and is cultivated for a few years and then it is left out for the land to restore its fertility naturally, thus looking for new land to cultivate upon.

What is shifting agriculture in one word?

★ The another name/word for “Shifting Agriculture” is “Slash and Burn Agriculture.” ★ Shifting cultivation/agriculture : The land is cleared by felling and burning of trees. Then,the ashes are mixed with the soil and crops are grown.

What is shifting agriculture class 8?

Answer: Shifting cultivation is also known as Slash-and-burn cultivation. It is a type of farming activity which involves clearing of a land plot by cutting down trees and burning them. The ashes are then mixed with the soil and crops are grown. After the land has lost its fertility, it is abandoned.

What is shifting agriculture Class 2?

Shifting agriculture is the type of cultivation in which the farmers cut trees and clear the land for cultivation. They also burn the uprooted trees and mix their ashes in the soil so as to fertile the soil. After cultivation and harvesting they move on to other land and repeat the same process.

What is shifting agriculture 7th?

(iii) Shifting cultivation is a form of agriculture which involves clearing of a plot of land by cutting of trees and burning them. The ashes are then mixed with the soil and crops are grown. After the land has lost its fertility, it is abandoned. The farmers then move to a new place.

What is shifting cultivation Class 6?

A form of agriculture in which an area of ground is cleared of vegetation and cultivated for a few years and then abandoned for a new area until its fertility has been naturally restored is said to be shifting agriculture.

What is shifting cultivation Class 5?

It is that type of agriculture in which farmers clear the forest land and use it for growing crops. The crops are grown for 2 to 3 years. when the fertility of the soil decreases, the farmer shifts to a new land . HOPE IT HELPS.

What is shifting agriculture called in India?

Shifting cultivation, locally known as jhum in India, has been often blamed for deforestation and environmental degradation.

What is shifting cultivation in India?

Shifting cultivation or jhum, predominantly practiced in the north-east of India is an agricultural system where a farming community slashes secondary forests on a predetermined location, burns the slash and cultivates the land for a limited number of years.

What is shifting cultivation PDF?

Shifting cultivation is a farming system in which land under. natural vegetation (usually forest) is cleared by slash and. burn method cropped with common arable crops for a few. years and then left unattended after harvesting.

How is Shifting Cultivation Practiced?

It is a way of farming long followed in the humid tropics of southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South America. In Shifting agriculture in India, farmers would cut and burn the native vegetation. Then they sow crops in the ash-fertilized and exposed soil for 2 or 3 seasons in succession.

Characteristics of Shifting Cultivation

It is ecologically viable if enough land for long (about 10 to 20 years) is restorative.

Types of Shifting Cultivation

The different types of shifting agriculture are the slash-and-burn, shifting cultivation cycle in the Orinoco floodplain, Chitemene system, Hmong system, the slash-mulch system and the plough-in-slash system.

Importance of Shifting Cultivation

The Importance of it includes the advantages and disadvantages of this farming. So, let’s know about the pros & cons one by one.

Shifting Cultivation Advantages and Disadvantages

There are several advantages of Shifting farming. But, also, it has a few disadvantages. So, we have noted some advantages and disadvantages of Shifting farming in the below section.

Example of Shifting Cultivation

Shifting farming is an example of subsistence, extensive and arable farming. In the rainforest, it is one of the traditional forms of agriculture. The Amazonian Indians mostly do this farming in South America. They use the land for 2 to 3 years before moving to another area.

What is shifting cultivation?

Shifting cultivation, also referred to as slash-and-burn cultivation, is a system practiced mostly in wetter miombo woodlands, the most extensive ecoregion in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It is unique in that crops are grown in a field covered by ashes made from burning piles of branches obtained by lopping and chopping trees from an area (outfield) 10 times larger than the ash-covered field. The piles of wood are burned just before the onset of the rainy season to kill pests and pathogens in the soil and to fertilize the field with the ashes. A crop, usually an annual one such as millet, is sown in the ash without tilling the soil. In the second year, a cassava crop, which matures over a 2–3 year period, often succeeds millets before the ashed field is abandoned to fallow. Although other kinds of vegetation occur in the area, local people often prefer setting up their fields in miombo woodlands. It is unclear whether this preference is based on differences in nutrient content available from the trees or differential soil responses in areas with different vegetation types. In Zambia, for instance, (Chidumayo, 1996a) highlighted different vegetation cover characteristics of forest areas. They include – beside the Brachystegia, Julbernardia, and Isoberlinia species—the Kalahari woodland, which is found on Kalahari sands in the region. This woodland is dominated by Guibourtia, Burkea, Brachystesia, Isoberlinia, Julbernardia, and Ricinodendron species. Other types of woodlands are the Mopane and Munga woodlands mainly characterized by Colophospermum and Acacia species. There are also the grassland vegetations that include wetland and dambos around ephemeral rivers.

Why is shifting cultivation no longer relevant?

Shifting cultivation, a resource-based subsistence farming, is no longer relevant because of the large population and its growing demands. The system is destabilized by long cultivation and short fallow periods. There is a need to transform shifting cultivation to sustainable intensification.

How long can a shifting cultivation system be viable?

Shifting cultivation systems are ecologically viable as long as there is enough land for long (10–20 years) restorative fallow, and expectations of crop yield and the attendant standards of living are not too high. These systems are naturally suited for harsh environments and fragile ecosystems of the tropics.

Where did shifting cultivation originate?

Shifting cultivation is a mode of farming long followed in the humid tropics of Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America. In the practice of “slash and burn”, farmers would cut the native vegetation and burn it, then plant crops in the exposed, ash-fertilized soil for two or three seasons in succession.

What causes soil degradation?

The severe problem of soil degradation is caused by indiscriminate and intensive land use based on monoculture regardless of soil capability, introduction of pastures with high stocking rate and uncontrolled grazing, or intensive cropping without input of chemical fertilizers or compost at the required rates.

What is slash and burn agriculture?

Slash-and-burn agriculture is a generic term for agricultural systems in which the fallow vegetation is manually slashed, left to dry, and cleared from the field by burning before crop cultivation. “Swidden” is an English dialect word for a burned clearing; thus, swidden agriculture is a synonym for slash-and-burn agriculture. After a cropping phase, the land is abandoned to a fallow phase. Later, the cycle is repeated. Only those systems that alternate between crop and fallow phases are included in this definition. Multistory tree gardens, home gardens, and cocoa plantations, where crops are permanently cultivated, are excluded. With the exception of labor, slash-and-burn farmers use few or no external inputs. Implements such as machetes and hoes are most commonly used. Systems where machinery is used for clearance and irrigated systems are excluded from this definition. Not considered in this context are the systems such as the ankara of the Western Highlands in Cameroon, the nkule of the Tanzanian grasslands, and the gy of Ethiopia, in which vegetation is slashed, gathered, covered with soil, and then burned inside the soil mounds.

What happens after a cropping phase?

After a cropping phase, the land is abandoned to a fallow phase. Later, the cycle is repeated. Only those systems that alternate between crop and fallow phases are included in this definition. Multistory tree gardens, home gardens, and cocoa plantations, where crops are permanently cultivated, are excluded.

What is shifting cultivation?

Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which a person uses a piece of land, only to abandon or alter the initial use a short time later. This system often involves clearing of a piece of land followed by several years of wood harvesting or farming until the soil loses fertility. Once the land becomes inadequate for crop production, it is …

What happens when land becomes inadequate for crop production?

Once the land becomes inadequate for crop production, it is left to be reclaimed by natural vegetation, or sometimes converted to a different long term cyclical farming practice. This system of agriculture is often practised at the level of an individual or family, but sometimes may involve an entire village.