SLASH – AND - BURN FOOD ENERGY SYSTEMS

• SLASH AND BURN

- Slash and burn agriculture is the process of cutting down the vegetation in a particular plot of
land, setting fire to the remaining foliage, and using the ashes to provide nutrients to the soil for the use
of planting food crops.

Steps to Slash and Burn

• Prepare the field by cutting down vegetation; plants that provide food or timber may be left
standing.

• The downed vegetation is allowed to dry until just before the rainiest part of the year to ensure
an effective burn.

• The plot of land is burned to remove vegetation, drive away pests, and provide a burst of
nutrients for planting.

• Planting is done directly in the ashes left after the burn.

Cultivation (the preparation of land for planting crops) on the plot is done for a few years until the
fertility of the formerly burned land is reduced. The plot is left alone for longer than it was cultivated,
sometimes up to 10 or more years, to allow wild vegetation to grow on the plot of land. When
vegetation has grown again, the slash and burn process may be repeated.

Geography of Slash and Burn Agriculture

• Slash and burn agriculture is most often practiced in places where open land for farming is not
readily available because of dense vegetation. These regions include central Africa, northern
South America, and Southeast Asia, and typically within grasslands and rainforests.

• Slash and burn is a method of agriculture primarily used by tribal communities for subsistence
farming (farming to survive). Humans have practiced this method for about 12,000 years, ever
since the transition known as the Neolithic Revolution, the time when humans stopped hunting
 and gathering and started to stay put and grow crops. Today, between 200 and 500 million
people, or up to 7% of the world’s population, uses slash and burn agriculture.

ROY RAPPAPORT-

• American Anthropologist

• Known for his contributions to the anthropological study of

ritual and to ecological anthropology.

TSEMBAGA MARING

-a clan living in semipermanent villages on the northern slopes of the central highlands of New Guinea.

• When used properly, slash and burn agriculture provides communities with a source of food and
income. Slash and burn allow 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.

Negative Aspects of Slash and Burn

Many critics claim that slash and burn agriculture contributes to a number of reoccurring problems
specific to the environment. They include:

 Deforestation: When practiced by large populations, or when fields are not given sufficient time
for vegetation to grow back, there is a temporary or permanent loss of forest cover.
  Erosion: When fields are slashed, burned, and cultivated next to each other in rapid succession,
roots and temporary water storages are lost and unable to prevent nutrients from leaving the
area permanently.
 Nutrient Loss: For the same reasons, fields may gradually lose the fertility they once had. The
result may be desertification, a situation in which land is infertile and unable to support the
growth of any kind.

 Biodiversity Loss: When plots of land area are cleared, the various plants and animals that lived
there are swept away. If a particular area is the only one that holds a particular species, slashing
and burning could result in extinction for that species. Because slash and burn agriculture is
often practiced in tropical regions where biodiversity is extremely high, endangerment and
extinction may be magnified.

The negative aspects above are interconnected, and when one happens, typically another happens also.
These issues may come about because of irresponsible practices of slash and burn agriculture by a large
number of people. Knowledge of the ecosystem of the area and agricultural skills could prove very
helpful in the safe, sustainable use of slash and burn agriculture.

IRRIGATION AGRICULTURE

Irrigation is the method in which a controlled amount of water is supplied to plants at regular intervals
for agriculture.

In simple words, it is when people supply water to plants to help them grow when there is not enough
rain. Irrigation water can be pumped from rivers, lakes and wells or allowed to flow to the fields by the
force of gravity along pipes or open canals.

Types of Irrigation

The methods in agriculture are Surface, Sprinkler, Drip, Center pivot and manual irrigation.

1. Surface

In surface irrigation, water moves over and across the land by simple gravity flow to wetland and
infiltrate the soil.

2. Sprinkler

It’s a popular method, which pipes with a set amount of water to the fields and then sprays it directly
over the crops with high-pressure sprinklers. The benefit is that the amounts of water can be
controlled.
3. Drip

With this type, water is delivered at or near the root zone of plants, drop by drop. This method is the
most water efficient of irrigation.

4. Center pivot

It involves a self-propelled system in which a single pipeline moves on wheeled towers in a circular
pattern.

5. Manual

This type uses buckets or watering cans. It is a common method used in our backyard farms.

ADVANTAGES

 Irrigation makes it possible to grow cash crops which give good returns to the cultivators.
Examples of cash crops are; sugarcane, potato, tobacco etc.
 It improves the groundwater storage as water lost due to seepage adds to groundwater storage.
 It improves the yields of crops which mean more income for the farmer people prosperous.
 We use it to help the growth of crops during the period of inadequate rainfall.

DISADVANTAGES

Excessive seepage and leakage of water create marshes and ponds all along the channels. The marshes
and the ponds in some time become the colonies of the mosquito, which gives rise to a disease like
malaria.

It lowers the temperature and makes the locality damp due to the presence of irrigation water.

Excessive seepage into the ground raises the water, hence causing water logging of the area.

IMPORTANCE

 Irrigation maintains moisture in the soil. Moisture is necessary for the germination of seeds.
 Water supplies two essential elements, hydrogen and oxygen to the crop.
 Irrigation is necessary for the absorption of mineral nutrients by the plants from the soil.
 It is essential for the growth of the roots of the crop plants.
NOMADIC PASTORALISM

The origin of nomadic pastoralism is traced back to the Middle Ages. The first nomadic
pastoralist society is said to develop somewhere around 8500 BC to 6500 BC. In India too you will find
many such tribes that practice nomadic pastoralism.

Nomads, as we know, are tribes and groups of people that do not permanently settle in one
place. They move around from one place to another in no set pattern to look for their livelihoods. They
do not possess a permanent house or any other such possessions.

The main feature of nomadic pastoralism is that these nomads have the same occupation, they
herd cattle. They use these cattle for secondary purposes as well, such dairy products like milk, furs,
hides, leather, manure etc. So pastoral nomads move from place to place looking for pasture for their
cattle and to trade their products.

Characteristics of Pastoral Nomadism:

 Unlike other subsistence farmers, pastoral nomads mainly depend on animals rather than crops
for survival. The animals provide milk, and their skins and hair are used for clothing and tents.
Their animals are usually not slaughtered, although some dead ones may be eaten. To nomads,
the size of their herd an important measure of power and prestige and also their main security
during adverse environmental conditions. 

 Pastoral nomads do not wander randomly across the landscape, but they have a very strong
sense of territoriality. Every group controls a piece of territory and will invade another group's
territory only in an emergency, or in a case of war. The goal of each group is to control a
territory large enough to contain the food and water needed for survival. The actual amount of
land a group controls depends on its wealth and power.

 Some pastoral nomads practice transhumance,  which is seasonal migration of livestock

between mountains and lowland pasture areas. Pasture is land used for grazing animals,
including grass and other plants.

Process of Choosing Animals:

Nomads select the type and number of animals for the herd according to local cultural and physical
characteristics. The choice depends on the ability of the species to adapt to a particular climate and
vegetation. The camel is the most highly desired animal in North Africa and Southwest Asia, along with
sheep and goats. Horses are also important in Central Asia.

 Camels are well suited to arid, dry climates because they can go long periods of time without
water while carrying heavy baggage and move rapidly. 
  Goats  need more water than camels do, but they are tough and can survive off of pretty much
any food. 

 Sheep are more slow moving and are affected by the climate more, but they help provide
clothing and tents with their skin and hair.

 The typical nomadic family needs 25 to 60 goats or sheep or 10 to 25 camels. 

Typical Weather Conditions?

Pastoral nomadism has adapted to dry climates, where planting crops is almost impossible.
Pastoral nomads primarily live in the large belt of arid and semiarid land that includes Central and
Southwest Asia, and North Africa. 

Benefits and Drawbacks of Pastoral Nomadism?

Because they have domesticated animals, but not plants, pastoral nomads were considered
more advanced than hunters and gatherers but less advanced that settle farmers. Pastoral Nomadism is
simply a practical way of surviving on land that receives too little rain for cultivation of crops. Today,
pastoral Nomadism is declining because of technology. Before recent transportation and
communications inventions, pastoral nomads played and important role as carriers of good and
information across the sparsely inhabited dry lands. But now, with modern weapons and tools, national
governments can control the nomadic population more effectively. Governments are starting to force
groups to give up pastoral nomadism because they want to use the land for other reasons.