
The soil quality conservation in the slash-and-burn agriculture is superior to that of continued cultivation of agricultural crops, or monoculture plantations. Traditional slash-and-burn as a way of clearing land for farming is allowed and exempted from being a criminal offense in Indonesia.
Slash and burn series#
The results of the chemical and physical attributes evaluated indicate that a fallow period of 15 years or more after a crop cycle in slash-and-burn agriculture can restore the original soil conditions. This is one of a series of five short films that contribute to a UK-Brazil research initiative, 'Human dimensions of wildfires: Linking research and environm. Total nitrogen, particulate nitrogen and mineral-associated nitrogen decrease in the years following the burning but increase throughout a 15-year fallow. A 15-year fallow increases particulate organic carbon and mineral-associated organic carbon compared to a 2-year crop. Total organic carbon decreases in a 2-year crop but increases in a 10-year fallow. slash-and-burn synonyms, slash-and-burn pronunciation, slash-and-burn translation, English dictionary definition of slash-and-burn. Intentional fires get out of control and burn through the understory of nearby forests, killing, but not completely burning small trees, vines and shrubs. The sensitivity index of GMD shows the improvement of aggregation after a 15-year fallow. Slash-and-burn agriculture converts forest to farm land, but that obvious destruction is only the beginning.

A 15-year fallow can restore the GMD to values similar to those other areas. Slash-and-burn agriculture does not alter soil bulk density however, it reduces aggregate geometric mean diameter (GMD).

Soil samples (0–5, 5–10 and 10–20 cm) were collected in areas with slash-and-burn agriculture and in nearby areas with eucalyptus forest plantation, agroforestry system and mature native forest.

The present study evaluated the ability of the fallow period to regenerate the soil, making it similar to the soil of a mature native forest, and compared it with other agricultural soils using a slash-and-burn chronosequence. Slash-and-burn is a typical soil management system in tropical regions, in which the use of fire and the fallow time are key factors for controlling the dynamics of the physical and chemical attributes of the soil.
