Introduction
Shifting
cultivation
has
sustained
agricultural
production
in
the
humid
and
subhumid
tropics
for
centuries.
It
refers
to
farming
systems
in
which
land
under
natural
vegetation
is
cleared,
cultivated
for
a
short
period
(2-3
years),
and
then
left
fallow
while
natural
vegetation
regenerates,
traditionally
for
a
much
longer
period
(20-60
years).
Unlike
fallows
in
developed
country
agriculture,
however,
tropical
fallows
are
both
productive
(fruits,
honey,
medicinal
plants)
and
fulfill
a
variety
of
agroecosystem
services
(landscape
stabilization,
biodiversity
niches).
Introduction
|
Definition
|
Hedgerow
Species
I
Species
Selection
Criteria
|
Soil
Organic
Matter
&
Nutrients
|
System
Management
|
Crop
Yields
|
Soil
Conservation
|
Weed
Dynamics
|
Tree-Crop
Competition
|
References
BACK
Funded
by
a
grant
from
the
Cornell
Agroforestry
Working
Group
(CAWG)
and
the
Distance
Learning
Program
of
the
Cornell
International
Institute
for
Food,
Agriculture
and
Development
(CIIFAD).
