Describe the chief characteristics features of shifting agriculture and explain it's drawbacks.
Answers
Answer:
(i) Parts of the forest are cut and burnt in rotation.
(ii) Seeds are sown in the ashes after the first monsoon rains and the crop is harvested by October-November.
(iii) Such plots are cultivated for a couple of years or till the time the soil retains its fertility and then abandoned or left fallow.
(iv) A mixture of crops is grown on these plots. Example: Bargas, a forest community of Central India.
Answer:
Characteristics are:
(i) Vegetation is cleared by slashing and burning. (ii) There is the use of little or no manure. (iii) The yields decline after a certain period of continuous use. (iv) Both the settlements and plots are temporary.
Drawbacks are:
The primary disadvantage of shifting cultivation, also called slash and burn or swidden agriculture, is the destruction of large areas of land, primarily crop fields and tracts of forest. When performed improperly, slash and burn can make once-fertile lands unable to support the new growth of crops and plants.
Explanation: