Shifting Cultivation and PlantationsDeaton APHG

Shifting Cultivation

Used the most in tropical landscapes: lots of rainfall, high temperatures, low latitude.

2 distinct characteristicsSlash and burn agriculture- cut the

vegetation and burn the debris = fertilizes the soil.

Only use the field for a few years until the nutrients are gone. Will not return for many years until it recovers = slash and burn again.

Shifting Cultivation

• The crops• This varies according to the region and the

custom of taste.• Southeast Asia: rice• South America: corn/maize• Africa: millet and sorghum• All/multiple regions: Yams, sugarcane, and

veggies • Mainly due to diffusion

Shifting Cultivation

• Land ownership• Owned by the village• Chief or elders allocates land to families

• Less than 5% of the world’s population engages in shifting cultivation.• Why?

Shifting Cultivation

• Future• Being replaced by logging, cattle ranching, and

cash crops.• LDC’s see it as an inefficient way to grow food.• More places/regions are being converted

towards more modern means.

Shifting Cultivation

• Critics of it:• Too old and not enough production.• Not a good use of space.• Should be used for development after

cleared. Not left barren.• Can lead to deforestation and global warming.

Shifting Cultivation

• Defenders of it:• Consider it the most environmentally sound

approach in the tropics.• Prevents the use of pesticides and

fertilizers.• Changing it can upset the local diversity of

cultures in the tropics. It is connected to social, religious, and political customs.

Pastoral Nomadism

• A type of subsistence agriculture that relies upon the herding of domesticated animals.• Unlike subsistence farmers, they depend

primarily upon the animals rather than their crops for survival.• They will still eat primarily grains rather than

meat, but they use the animals for other things. • Often trade animal goods with other

subsistence farmers.

Pastoral Nomadism

• Choice of Animals• Depends on local cultural and physical

characteristics.• Camel:• Goat:• Sheep:• The # of animals depends on the size of the

group.

Pastoral Nomadism

• Transhumance: seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and lowland pasture areas.• Pasture: grass or other plants grown for

feeding grazing animals.

Pastoral Nomadism

• It’s future:• Declining form of agriculture due to modern

technology.• Governments like China, Kazakhstan, Egypt,

Isreal, and Syria have tried to force nomads into cooperatives so that their land can be used for other purposes• Mining• Commercial farming

Plantation Farming

• Plantation: • A large farm that specializes in one or two

crops• It is a form of intensive subsistence farming:

implies that the farmer must work harder to subsist on a parcel of land.• Usually requires the use of outside workers

due to the labor levels.• Most have been replaced with machine labor• Sod, tobacco, cotton, coffee, sugar, etc.

Plantation Farming

• The first form and widely used is still, wet rice.• Planting rice on dry land in a nursery and then

moving the seedlings to a flooded field to promote growth. • Dominant type of agriculture in SE China, East

India, and SE Asia.