what is shifting cultivation?what are its disadvantages?
(Class 8th geography)
Answers
Answer:
Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which a person uses a piece of land, only to abandon or alter the initial use a short time later. This system often involves clearing of a piece of land followed by several years of wood harvesting or farming until the soil loses fertility.
Answer:
Shifting agriculture is a system of cultivation in which a plot of land is cleared and cultivated for a short period of time, then abandoned and allowed to revert to producing its normal vegetation while the cultivator moves on to another plot.
Explanation:
Shifting cultivation is generally practiced in the thickly forested areas. These are the areas of heavy rainfall and quick regeneration of vegetation. A plot of land is cleared by cutting the trees and burning them. The ashes are then mixed with the soil. After the soil loses its fertility, the land is abandoned and the cultivator moves to a new plot.
The major disadvantage of Shifting Cultivation is that many trees in the forest are cut and this increases soil infertility and leads to soil erosion.