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What was the long term effect of the practice of slash and burn?

What was the long term effect of the practice of slash and burn?

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 …

What are the effects of slash and burn?

Recent decades have seen a dramatic increase in tropical deforestation caused by slash-and-burn clearing for the establishment of more permanent agriculture, plantations and pastures, which often result in degraded grasslands or degraded fallows.

Is slash and burn long term?

The cleared area following slash and burn, also known as swidden, is used for a relatively short period of time, and then left alone for a longer period of time so that vegetation can grow again. For this reason, this type of agriculture is also known as shifting cultivation.

How long is slash burn effective?

The time it takes for a swidden to recover depends on the location and can be as little as five years to more than twenty years, after which the plot can be slashed and burned again, repeating the cycle.

Is slash and burn cheap?

Abstract. The slash and burn technique is used in many developing countries as a cheap means of clearing forest land for agriculture and involves cutting vegetation and setting it alight.

In which country slash-and-burn is called Humah?

Detailed Solution

Name Location
Caigin Phillipines
Chena Sri -Lanka
Humah Java
Milpa Africa and Central america

How long has slash and burn farming been used?

Slash and burn is a method of agricultureprimarily 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.

How long does it take for slash and burn to work?

The plot is left alone for longer than it was cultivated, sometimes up to 10 or more years, to allow wild vegetation to grow on the plot of land. When vegetation has grown again, the slash and burn process may be repeated.

How does slash and burn affect the environment?

The dramatic change in recent decades has been the intensity and extent to which slash-and-burn of forest is practiced worldwide. Increasing pressure on the land gradually reduces the fallow period until only scrub woodland regenerates, yields are reduced, and the average biomass on the land is greatly reduced.

How does slash and burn affect Latin America?

Over the period 1850-1985, Houghton et al., 1991, estimate that the total net release of carbon from a range of land uses in Latin America was about 30000 Mt, about 5% of which was contributed by slash-and-burn agriculture in the sense used here; by 1985, this contribution had grown to 20%.