Question

What are the main features of shifting cultivation?

Answer 1

The main features of shifting cultivation are:

1. Land Clearing: A patch of forest is cleared by cutting down trees and burning the vegetation; the resulting ash acts as a natural fertilizer.
2. Temporary Cultivation: Crops are grown for two to three years using primitive tools and natural rainfall, without modern fertilizers.
3. Plot Abandonment: Once the soil loses its natural fertility, farmers abandon the land to allow the forest to recover and move to a new clearing.