what is slash and burn agriculture

How to Slash and Burn Agriculture

1. Prepare the field by cutting down vegetation; plants that provide food or timber may be left standing.
2. The downed vegetation is allowed to dry until just before the rainiest part of the year to ensure an effective burn.
3. The plot of land is burned to remove vegetation, drive away pests, and provide a…

Full
Answer

What are some alternatives to slash and burn agriculture?

 · Slash and burn is a method of agriculture primarily used by tribal communities for subsistence farming (farming to survive). Humans have practiced this method for about 12,000 years, ever since the transition known as the Neolithic Revolution—the time when humans stopped hunting and gathering and started to stay put and grow crops.

What are the steps in slash and burn farming?

slash-and-burn agriculture, method of cultivation in which forests are burned and cleared for planting. Slash-and-burn agriculture is often used by tropical-forest root-crop farmers in various parts of the world, for animal grazing in South and Central America, and by dry-rice cultivators in the forested hill country of Southeast Asia.

What is the definition of slash and burn farming?

 · Slash and burn farming is a form of shifting agriculture where the natural vegetation is cut down and burned as a method of clearing the land for cultivation, and then, when the plot becomes infertile, the farmer moves to a new fresh plat and does the same again. This process is repeated over and over.

What does slash mean in agriculture Dictionary?

 · Sustainable slash and burn is more commonly known as shifting cultivation, meaning crops and farming rotate in a given area to maintain the soil and natural environment. Slash and burn agriculture is a highly controversial and misunderstood practice. The practice has sometimes been associated with mass cutting, clearing and deforestation, but in fact “slash …

Which is a slash and burn agriculture?

slash-and-burn agriculture, method of cultivation in which forests are burned and cleared for planting.

What is slash and burn agriculture very short answer?

Slash and burn agriculture:Slash-and-burn Agriculture is a type of farming that involves cutting and burning plants in a forest or woodland to produce a swidden field. Cutting down trees and woody plants in an area is the first step in the procedure.

What is slash and burn agriculture Why is it called so?

Shifting cultivation, also known as the slash and burn agriculture (Jhum cultivation), is the process of growing crops by first clearing the land of trees and vegetation and burning them thereafter. The burnt soil contains potash which increases the nutrient content of the soil.

What do you mean by slash and burn agriculture Class 7?

Slash and burn is a method of farming that involves clearing land by destroying and burning all the trees and plants on it, farming there for a short time, and then moving on to clear a new piece of land.

What is slash and burn agriculture Brainly?

Answer: Slash-and-burn agriculture, method of cultivation in which forests are burned and cleared for planting.

What is the other name of slash and burn agriculture in India?

Tribal groups in the northeastern Indian states of Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland and the Bangladeshi districts of Rangamati, Khagrachari, Bandarban and Sylhet refer to slash-and-burn agriculture as jhum or jhoom cultivation.

What is slash and burn agriculture?

Full Article. Slash-and- burn agriculture, method of cultivation in which forests are burned and cleared for planting. Slash-and-burn agriculture is often used by tropical-forest root-crop farmers in various parts of the world and by dry-rice cultivators of the forested hill country of Southeast Asia. The ash provides some fertilization, and the …

Where is slash and burn used?

Slash-and-burn agriculture is often used by tropical-forest root-crop farmers in various parts of the world and by dry-rice cultivators of the forested hill country of Southeast Asia. The ash provides some fertilization, and the plot is relatively free of weeds. After several years of cultivation, fertility declines and weeds increase.

What is an encyclopedia editor?

Encyclopaedia Britannica’s editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. …

What is slash and burn farming?

v. t. e. Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed vegetation, or “slash”, is then left to dry, usually right before the rainiest part of the year.

What is slash and burn?

Because the leached soil in many tropical regions, such as the Amazon, are nutritionally extremely poor, slash-and-burn is one of the only types of agriculture which can be practised in these areas. Slash-and-burn farmers typically plant a variety of crops, instead of a monoculture, and contribute to a higher biodiversity due to creating mosaic habitats. The general ecosystem is not harmed in traditional slash-and-burn, aside from a small temporary patch. Slash and burn agriculture may be thought of as a form of agroforestry.

How does a slash work?

The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed vegetation, or “slash”, is then left to dry, usually right before the rainiest part of the year. Then, the biomass is burned, resulting in a nutrient-rich layer of ash which makes the soil fertile, as well as temporarily eliminating weed and pest species.

Why do farmers cut trees?

Cultivators cut the treetops to allow sunlight to reach the land, burning the trees and grasses for fresh soil. Although it is believed that this helps fertilize the land, it can leave it vulnerable to erosion. Holes are made for the seeds of crops such as sticky rice, maize, eggplant and cucumber are planted.

What is jhoom farming?

Tribal groups in the northeastern Indian states of Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland and the Bangladeshi districts of Rangamati, Khagrachari, Bandarban and Sylhet refer to slash-and-burn agriculture as jhum or jhoom cultivation . The system involves clearing land, by fire or clear-felling, for economically-important crops such as upland rice, vegetables or fruits. After a few cycles, the land’s fertility declines and a new area is chosen. Jhum cultivation is most often practised on the slopes of thickly-forested hills. Cultivators cut the treetops to allow sunlight to reach the land, burning the trees and grasses for fresh soil. Although it is believed that this helps fertilize the land, it can leave it vulnerable to erosion. Holes are made for the seeds of crops such as sticky rice, maize, eggplant and cucumber are planted. After considering jhum ‘ s effects, the government of Mizoram has introduced a policy to end the method in the state.

Is slash and burn farming sustainable?

While deforestation can be harmful to the environment, slash and burn agriculture is actually very sustainable. Shifting cultivation allows natural habitats to remain, and maintains biodiversity while still yielding crops. Sustainable slash and burn is more commonly known as shifting cultivation, meaning crops and farming rotate in a given area …

What is slash and burn?

Sustainable slash and burn is more commonly known as shifting cultivation, meaning crops and farming rotate in a given area to maintain the soil and natural environment. Slash and burn agriculture is a highly controversial and misunderstood practice. The practice has sometimes been associated with mass cutting, clearing and deforestation, …

What is shifting cultivation?

Shifting cultivation allows natural habitats to remain, and maintains biodiversity while still yielding crops. Sustainable slash and burn is more commonly known as shifting cultivation, meaning crops and farming rotate in a given area to maintain the soil and natural environment. Slash and burn agriculture is a highly controversial …

Why are forests cut?

In the negative cases, large scale forests – often rainforests – are cut and cleared to make room for huge agricultural plots. 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.

What is stubble burning?

Stubble burning in slash and burn agriculture. Firstly, slash and burn is carefully planned, and certain areas are selected for slashing, rather than targeting an entire forest or field. This is usually around a hectare-sized piece of land. Once an area is established, trees, shrubs and large vegetation are all cut and left to dry out.

What happens when you burn a tree?

When the trees and shrubs are burned, they break down nutrients in the dead plants, and make them more readily available to the soil.

What happens when you slash and burn?

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.

What is the meaning of slash and burn agriculture?

Slash-and-burn agriculture, method of cultivation in which forests are burned and cleared for planting. After several years of cultivation, fertility declines and weeds increase.

Is slash and burn agriculture good or bad?

Slash-and-burn agroecosystems are important to rural poor and indigenous peoples in the developing world. Ecologically sound slash-and-burn agriculture is sustainable because it does not depend upon outside inputs based on fossil energy for fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation.

How does slash and burn affect the soil?

It is burned here because the burning process releases nutrients which then fertilize the soil. So, the slash and burn process successfully clears land for agriculture and introduces fertilizing nutrients into the soil, leaving it in excellent condition to grow crops.

What is another name for slash and burn agriculture?

Shifting agriculture. D. Subsistence agriculture. Hint: Slash and burn agriculture is also referred to as fire-fallow cultivation, a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland.

What are the benefits of slash and burn agriculture?

When done properly, slash and burn agriculture provides communities with a source of food and income. Slash and burn allows people to farm in places where it usually is not possible because of dense vegetation, soil infertility, low soil nutrient content, uncontrollable pests, or other reasons.

Why slash and burn is bad?

There are many problems that result from this method of growing crops, including deforestation, a direct consequence of cutting down forests for crop land; loss of habitat and species; an increase in air pollution and the release of carbon into the atmosphere—which contributes to global climate change; and an increase

How can we prevent slash and burn agriculture?

These include alley-cropping, an agroforestry technique in which people plant food crops alongside trees. Planting a variety of food crops, creating buffer zones of native trees around existing forestland, and reclaiming degraded land through reforestation and other practices have all proven to work well.

Overview

Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed vegetation, or “slash”, is then left to dry, usually right before the rainiest part of the year. Then, the biomass is burned, resulting in a nutrient-rich layer of ash which makes the soil fertile, as well as temporarily eliminating weed and pest species. After a…

History

Technique

Benefits and drawbacks

Regionally

Research

Gallery

See also