How does slash and burn technique benefit soil?

Slash and burn agriculture is a widely used method of growing food in which wild or forested land is clear cut and any remaining vegetation burned. The resulting layer of ash provides the newly-cleared land with a nutrient-rich layer to help fertilize crops.

What is a benefit of the slash and burn technique?

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.

Is the slash and burn method good for the environment?

Abstract. 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.

Does slash and burn increase soil fertility?

Milpa has been widely related with slash-and-burn farming, which today is considered an unsustainable practice that decreases soil fertility in the long term. Particularly, burning increases soil pH and drastically decreases soil organic matter, which was confirmed in the present study.

How does slash and burn cause soil erosion?

Mr. Thompson notes too, that fire removes vegetation from the land and this results in erosion, because when you have rainfall immediately after that, what you tend to get is more run-off than infiltration and you tend to have a lot of land slippage.

What is slash and burn method of agriculture?

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

What is the purpose of slash and burn agriculture?

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. The ash provides some fertilization, and the plot is relatively free of weeds.

How does slash and burn lead to soil erosion?

Also, by cutting and burning the trees, field surface remains bare, with no protection against strong winds and rains. Tropical heavy rains can lead to soil saturation and the formation of free water on the surface, which further causes soil erosion even on slightly sloping terrains.

How does slash and burn agriculture work?

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.

What are sustainable methods of agriculture that can replace slash and burn?

Another option is to combine agriculture with animal husbandry. The waste from the animals can be used as fertilizer to sustain agriculture. The use of fertilizer both natural and artificial sources could replace the use of burning the trees to create fertile fields in the forest for agriculture.