The Nature of Shifting Cultivation: Stories of Harmony, Degradation, and Redemption

Shifting cultivation is identified as a major cause of tropical deforestation. Sources that recount such impacts routinely employ an Eden-lost narrative structure that represents shifting cultivators as having their relatively harmonious human-environment relationships disrupted by various forces. While such disruptions lead to land degradation, official development institutions via research into alternatives to such agriculture offer redemption, or the return to relative ecological harmony. This Edenic narrative vehicle allows shifting cultivators to be represented as primitives in need of modernization, yet it also more commonly allows a sympathetic representation as holders of valuable, albeit threatened, indigenous knowledge that can be applied to the development of solutions. However, embedded within both hostile and sympathetic accounts from both scientific and policy sources are cultural images that persist as a legacy of colonialist assumptions of social evolution and cultural hierarchy.     

Adaptive strategies in the breakdown of shifting cultivation: The case of Mambwe,Lamha, and Lala of northern Zambia

Many researchers have commented on the remarkable ability of African shifting cultivators to adjust their agricultural methods to available resources. In northern Zambia, where the shifting cultivators depend on woodlands as an agricultural fallow crop, deforestation is prevalent under the increasing population pressure. Adaptations to the less vigorous forest cover have taken various forms, but all of them can be described as succession to a common system of shifting cultivation. In many respects, these can be regarded as part of a process of agricultural adaptive radiation as the affected populations were pushed into new environments as a result of warfare and/or population pressure.     

Relocating plants from swidden fallows to gardens in Southwestern China

As upland farmers in Southeast Asia change from shifting cultivation to permanent agriculture and lose access to swidden-fallow forests and their resources, they are introducing economically important forest and fallow plants into their house gardens. We describe this process in Daka, a village of Hani ethnicity in Yunnan Province, China. Daka smallholders collect both seeds and seedlings from fallow forests and transfer the plants to house gardens, initiating the transformation of wild species to a cultivated or semi-domesticated one. Two kinds of species are commonly transferred from swidden fallows to house gardens. Some are particularly rare, others are plants in great demand. Between 1998 and 2000 Daka households earned an average of US$68.20 annually from the products of fallow forests. We also found that villagers harvest and use 76 plant species from fallow forests and 126 species from house gardens. Twenty-two species found in house gardens that had been transferred from fallow forests. Households vary widely in the frequency with which they engage in this pattern. We believe that local knowledge of these practices is a potentially important resource in the development of other areas of smallholder farming.     

Untangling a Decline in Tropical Forest Resilience: Constraints on the Sustainability of Shifting Cultivation Across the Globe

Shifting cultivators depend on forest biomass inputs to nourish their crops. For them, forest resilience has an immediate impact: it affects crop productivity. A decline in the rate of recovery following shifting cultivation would ultimately affect local, regional and global carbon budgets, with feedbacks to climate. Yet the long-term impacts of shifting cultivation have been quantified in only six locations. In this study, we reanalyze data from these locations to determine whether the rate of biomass recovery is the same from cycle to cycle. Further, using case studies in Southern Yucatan, Mexico and West Kalimantan, Indonesia, we investigate the ecological and socioeconomic factors that affect forest resilience and thus determine whether or not shifting cultivation is sustainable. The reanalysis links aboveground biomass recovery following shifting cultivation to site productivity, forest age, fallow length, history of cultivation, and soil texture. Across locations, biomass accumulation rate declines by 9.3 percent with each cycle of shifting cultivation. Per cycle change in biomass accumulation rate is significantly more negative in younger forests and forests that experience a shorter fallow period. However, more detailed analyses for two case studies suggest that a purely ecological framework is of limited effectiveness in explaining variability in the effect of repeated shifting cultivation. Rather, socioeconomic factors such as migration, subsidies, roads, and settlement history can alter the outcome of shifting cultivation by limiting the accumulation and use of local knowledge.     

The Rationality of Shifting Cultivation Systems: Labor Productivity Revisited

This paper reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on labor productivity in shifting cultivation systems, and relationships between labor productivity and production parameters are analyzed in two case studies of Iban communities in Sarawak, Malaysia, during two farming seasons. In addition, the labor productivity in shifting cultivation compared to off-farm wage labor opportunities is explored. Establishing firm relationships between labor productivity and production parameters, such as fallow length, fertilizer use, and herbicide use was not possible. We are thus unable to verify or reject the thesis that more labor is required for managing fields after short fallow compared to long fallow periods. We do demonstrate that shifting cultivation of hill rice can compete economically with common off-farm employment opportunities, and conclude that farmers’ decisions to maintain their practices is based as much on economic rationales as on tradition.     

New approaches to prehistoric land-use reconstruction in south-western Germany

Botanical on-site and off-site data relating to Late Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement phases in south-western Germany are compared with a view to reconstructing economic and environmental change. The large differences between the Neolithic and Bronze Age as regards forest composition, crops and crop weeds, and charcoal input are explained in terms of different types of agronomic systems and hence cultural landscape. In the Late Neolithic, shifting cultivation, involving slash and burn, was practised with the result that the landscape was largely dominated by tall shrubs. In the Bronze Age there were more or less permanent arable fields with only short fallow phases. The agronomic system and the resulting cultural landscape was already similar to that of the medieval period and, especially, early medieval time.     

Who Counts? Demography of Swidden Cultivators in Southeast Asia

Swidden cultivators are often found as a distinct category of farmers in the literature, but rarely appear in population censuses or other national and regional classifications. This has led to a worldwide confusion on how many people are dependent on this form of agriculture. The most often cited number of 200–300 million dates back to the early 1970s, but the source is obscure. We assess available, published data from nine countries in Southeast Asia and conclude that on this basis it is not possible to provide a firm estimate of the number of swidden cultivators in the region. A conservative range of 14–34 million people engaged in swidden cultivation in the region is suggested, however. We argue that along with improved knowledge of swidden livelihoods, there is an urgent need to develop techniques that will allow for better estimates of swidden populations in order to secure appropriate rural development and poverty reduction in swidden areas.     

Décrue agriculture in Mali

The hydrology of the central delta of the Niger River is extremely complex, but the local cultivators have developed a remarkably sophisticated agriculture in order to deal with it. Crops, varieties and cultural practices are sensitively adjusted to variations in the height of the flood, soil texture, storage hazards, bird damage, nutritional needs and food preferences.     

Sensitivity of Soil Restoration Indicators during Páramo Succession in the High Tropical Andes: Chronosequence and Permanent Plot Approaches

The aim of this study was to analyze indicators of soil restoration during secondary succession in a heterogeneous valley in the high tropical Andes. A combination of chronosequence and permanent plot methods was used to detect changes in this heterogeneous matrix. Thirty-six plots with different fallow times (1–9 years) and four noncultivated plots with natural vegetation (páramo) were sampled twice in a 3-year interval (1996 and 1999). The following soil properties were determined: total C and N, pH, exchangeable bases, cation exchange capacity, and microbial biomass N (MB-N). Using the chronosequence approach, successional increases in soil pH and Mg were detected, pointing to these variables as indicators of soil restoration during the fallow period. Comparing the noncultivated páramo with the fallow plots, a significant decrease in MB-N was found, suggesting that this is a sensitive agricultural disturbance indicator. The permanent plot analysis failed to detect successional trends in any of the study variables, probably as a result of a lack of sensitivity of the indicators used within the 3-year interval. Nevertheless, a strong acidification was detected by the permanent plot method when fallow plots were cultivated. We conclude that the size of important soil components such as total soil organic matter or microbial biomass is not a sensitive soil restoration indicator in these heterogeneous mountain systems but that other integrative variables such as pH could be more sensitive to successional changes in key soil processes (e.g., nitrification or nutrient losses).     

Traditional Ecological Knowledge of a Riverine Forest in Turkana, Kenya: Implications for Research and Management

The present study explores traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of Turkana pastoralists and cultivators in the context of a riverine forest in northern Kenya. The Turkwel River and its floodplain sustain a thick forest, which is used for grazing and extraction of non-timber forest products. However, sedentarisation and agricultural expansion have resulted in localised clear-felling of trees, while river damming has altered the natural flow regime. A series of structured, semi-structured, and group interviews were combined with a botanical inventory in order to assess the relevance of TEK to ecological research and forest conservation. Turkana informants gave 102 vernacular names for the 113 woody species. Of these, 85% had a domestic or pastoral use among the 105 specific uses that were described. Ethnobotanical knowledge was relatively homogenous and not related to age, gender, or source of livelihood. The informants had in-depth knowledge of some key ecological processes. The conceived threats to forest survival were primarily cultivation and permanent settlements, while the effects of river damming and livestock grazing were disputed. A claimed decline in rainfall was confirmed by official data. There is strong evidence that TEK could be used to generate hypotheses for research and to design sustainable conservation strategies. A revised version of the indigenous system of tree management should be incorporated into the official forestry policy in order to resolve future conflicts between pastoralists and cultivators.     

Crop diversity and fallow management in a tropical deciduous forest shifting cultivation system

Shifting cultivation is important to many of the inhabitants of tropical forest regions. Much scientific research has been conducted on this form of agriculture in the humid tropics, but the drier portions of the tropics remain less studied. The shifting cultivation system practiced in the tropical deciduous forests of western Guerrero, Mexico, provides insight into such production systems, especially with regard to crop diversity and fallow characteristics. This system is characterized by low crop diversity, based primarily on maize (Zea mays)cultivation, and a general lack of fallow management. The farmers also utilize several strategies not common to many other regions, including highly seasonal labor allocation patterns, varying fallow cycle lengths, and the occasional application of chemical inputs.     

Carbon outcomes of major land‐cover transitions in SE Asia: great uncertainties and REDD+ policy implications

Policy makers across the tropics propose that carbon finance could provide incentives for forest frontier communities to transition away from swidden agriculture (slash‐and‐burn or shifting cultivation) to other systems that potentially reduce emissions and/or increase carbon sequestration. However, there is little certainty regarding the carbon outcomes of many key land‐use transitions at the center of current policy debates. Our meta‐analysis of over 250 studies reporting above‐ and below‐ground carbon estimates for different land‐use types indicates great uncertainty in the net total ecosystem carbon changes that can be expected from many transitions, including the replacement of various types of swidden agriculture with oil palm, rubber, or some other types of agroforestry systems. These transitions are underway throughout Southeast Asia, and are at the heart of REDD+ debates. Exceptions of unambiguous carbon outcomes are the abandonment of any type of agriculture to allow forest regeneration (a certain positive carbon outcome) and expansion of agriculture into mature forest (a certain negative carbon outcome). With respect to swiddening, our meta‐analysis supports a reassessment of policies that encourage land‐cover conversion away from these [especially long‐fallow] systems to other more cash‐crop‐oriented systems producing ambiguous carbon stock changes – including oil palm and rubber. In some instances, lengthening fallow periods of an existing swidden system may produce substantial carbon benefits, as would conversion from intensely cultivated lands to high‐biomass plantations and some other types of agroforestry. More field studies are needed to provide better data of above‐ and below‐ground carbon stocks before informed recommendations or policy decisions can be made regarding which land‐use regimes optimize or increase carbon sequestration. As some transitions may negatively impact other ecosystem services, food security, and local livelihoods, the entire carbon and noncarbon benefit stream should also be taken into account before prescribing transitions with ambiguous carbon benefits.     

Shifting Cultivation and Conservation of Biological Diversity in Tripura, Northeast India

Shifting cultivation (jhooming) has been identified as one of the main human impacts influencing biodiversity in Tripura, Northeast India. Over the last few years a new class of shifting cultivators has emerged that has adopted non-traditional forms of jhooming, which have been responsible for the loss of biological diversity in the state. This paper describes the successes achieved by the state government in providing the jhumias (tribes practicing jhooming) with various non-jhooming options. Recommendations include the need for short and long term control measures, improvement of existing jhooming methods, and integration of traditional knowledge with new practices.     

Microbial population,fungal biomass and CO2 evolution in maize (Zea mays L.) field soils

Summary CO₂ evolution, fungal biomass and microbial population of two maize field soils differing in agricultural systemsviz., permanent agriculture on plain lands in valleys and ‘slash and burn’ type of shifting agriculture, were estimated at monthly intervals for one crop cycle. The results showed significant positive correlation among CO₂ evolution, fungal biomass, microbial population, organic C and total N. There was significant positive correlation between bacterial population and moisture content in both the agricultural systems. Microbial population and CO₂ evolution were always higher in the soils of permanent agriculture as compared to that of ‘slash and burn’ type of shifting agriculture.     

Bird diversity and endemism along a land‐use gradient in Madagascar: The conservation value of vanilla agroforests

Land‐use change is the most important driver of biodiversity loss worldwide and particularly so in the tropics, where natural habitats are transformed into large‐scale monocultures or heterogeneous landscape mosaics of largely unknown conservation value. Using birds as an indicator taxon, we evaluated the conservation value of a landscape mosaic in northeastern Madagascar, a biodiversity hotspot and the center of global vanilla production. We assessed bird species richness and composition by conducting point counts across seven prevalent land‐use types (forest‐ and fallow‐derived vanilla agroforests, woody and herbaceous fallow that are part of a shifting cultivation system, rice paddy, forest fragment and contiguous old‐growth forest). We find that old‐growth forest had the highest species richness, driven by a high share of endemics. Species richness and community composition in forest‐derived vanilla agroforest were similar to forest fragment, whereas fallow‐derived vanilla agroforest was most comparable to woody fallow. The open land‐use types herbaceous fallow and rice paddy had fewest species. Across forest fragments, vanilla agroforests, and woody fallows, endemic bird species richness was positively correlated to landscape‐scale forest cover. We conclude that both fallow‐ and forest‐derived vanilla agroforests play an important but contrasting role for bird conservation: Fallow‐derived agroforests are less valuable but take fallow land out of the shifting cultivation cycle, possibly preventing further degradation. Conversely, forest‐derived agroforests contribute to forest degradation but may avoid total loss of tree cover from forest fragments. Considering the land‐use history of agroforests may thus be a promising avenue for future research beyond the case of vanilla. Abstract in Malagasay is available with online material     

Clean and Green: Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Models in a Philippine Community

This article demonstrates how the study of indigenous knowledge can be enhanced by paying attention to the forms in which this knowledge is organized and the way it is embedded in a wider cultural matrix. The empirical setting is a community of small-scale farmers on the Philippine island of Bohol, where much agricultural knowledge is organized in a cultural model built around a concept of cleanliness. The main part of the article is concerned with analyzing this symbolic model of cleanliness. I examine how it is applied within agriculture as well as in other domains; its esthetic, moral and practical dimensions; and how it can be said to embody a particular vision of the nature-culture opposition. In conclusion, I suggest that the cultural models approach may also facilitate the analysis of how indigenous knowledge changes over time.     

Dehydrogenase and urease activities of maize (Zea mays L.) field soils

Summary Dehydrogenase and urease activities, bacterial and fungal populations and physicochemical characteristics of maize (Zea mays L.) field soils have been studied for one crop cycle. A comparison has been made among soils of three different agricultural systemsviz permanent agriculture on plain lands in valleys, recently introduced terrace land agriculture and age old ‘slash and burn’ type of shifting agriculture on slopes. Results demonstrate that the enzyme activities, microbial population as well as most of the physico-chemical characteristics of soils followed the trend permanent agriculture on plain lands>terrace land agriculture>‘slash and burn’ type of shifting agriculture. Moisture and nutrient levels and topography of the lands were found to be major factors responsible for the trend.     

Changes in the spatial variation of soil properties following shifting cultivation in a Mexican tropical dry forest

The role of secondary vegetation in restoring soil fertility during shifting cultivation in the tropics is well known. Yet the effect of secondary succession on the spatial patterns of soil properties has received little attention. To determine whether changes in the plant community as a result of shifting cultivation affect the scale of spatial dependence for biologically important soil nutrients, we sampled three dry tropical forest stands in Campeche, Mexico. These stands represented a gradient of cultivation history: one mature forest stand, a forest fallow that had undergone one cultivation-fallow cycle, and a forest fallow that had undergone two cultivation-fallow cycles. We used an analysis of semivariance to quantify the scale and magnitude of spatial dependence for organic matter content (OM), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and aluminum (Al) in each stand. The scale of spatial dependence varied with cultivation history, but the degree of spatial dependence did not differ among stands. In the mature forest P and K were autocorrelated over distances >7.5 m. In the forest fallows 48–88% of the variation in soil P and K was autocorrelated over distances up to 1.1–5.1 m. In contrast, the range of autocorrelation for Al (∼2.5 m) did not differ among stands. We conclude that shifting cultivation changes the range of autocorrelation for biologically important soil nutrients at a scale that may influence plant growth. The finer scaled pattern of soil nutrients in forest fallows is likely to persist with continued shifting cultivation, since fallows are cleared every 3–15 years.     

Traditional shifting agriculture: tracking forest carbon stock and biodiversity through time in western Panama

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) requires developing countries to quantify greenhouse gas emissions and removals from forests in a manner that is robust, transparent, and as accurate as possible. Although shifting cultivation is a dominant practice in several developing countries, there is still very limited information available on how to monitor this land‐use practice for REDD+ as little is known about the areas of shifting cultivation or the net carbon balance. In this study, we propose and test a methodology to monitor the effect of the shifting cultivation on above‐ground carbon stocks. We combine multiyear remote sensing information, taken from a 12‐year period, with an in‐depth community forest carbon stock inventory in Palo Seco Forest Reserve, western Panama. Using remote sensing, we were able to separate four forest classes expressing different forest‐use intensity and time‐since‐intervention, which demonstrate expected trends in above‐ground carbon stocks. The addition of different interventions observed over time is shown to be a good predictor, with remote sensing variables explaining 64.2% of the variation in forest carbon stocks in cultivated landscapes. Multitemporal and multispectral medium‐resolution satellite imagery is shown to be adequate for tracking land‐use dynamics of the agriculture‐fallow cycle. The results also indicate that, over time, shifting cultivation has a transitory effect on forest carbon stocks in the study area. This is due to the rapid recovery of forest carbon stocks, which results in limited net emissions. Finally, community participation yielded important additional benefits to measuring carbon stocks, including transparency and the valorization of local knowledge for biodiversity monitoring. Our study provides important inputs regarding shifting cultivation, which should be taken into consideration when national forest monitoring systems are created, given the context of REDD+ safeguards.     

Implications of local knowledge of the ecology of a wild super sweetener for its domestication and commercialization in West and Central Africa

Despite its local use as a fiber and international trade in thaumatin, the intensely sweet protein derived from its fruit, little ecological information aboutThaumatococcus daniellii (Benn.) Benth. is in the public domain. Here, we combine systematic studies of the local knowledge of plant collectors and cultivators in Ghana with a thorough evaluation of the plant’s natural distribution in order to explore possibilities for increasing the contribution that it makes to sustaining rural livelihoods in West and Central Africa. The natural range goes well beyond where commercial collection and cultivation have been previously reported. Local knowledge was found to be detailed and explanatory. Its acquisition has refined our understanding of the ecology of the plant, although some significant gaps remain, particularly with respect to pollination. The market for thaumatin is ripe for expansion, and the plant has untapped potential as an intercrop for rubber and cocoa. Further domestication needs to be accompanied by consideration of impacts on the livelihoods of those who presently collect fruit from the wild, and of opportunities for increasing the value that accrues within Africa through the development of local processing capacity.