What is slash-and-burn deforestation?

Table of Contents

slash-and-burn agriculture, method of cultivation in which forests are burned and cleared for planting.

What is the main cause of deforestation in the Philippines?

Aside from logging (whether legal or illegal), other causes of deforestation in the Philippines are forest fires, “kaingin” farming (slash-and-burn agriculture), and mining operations. Volcanic eruptions have also devastated some of the country’s tropical rainforests.

How is the Philippines affected by deforestation?

In the absence of forest cover and with frequent heavy typhoon rains, soil erosion, mass wasting, and landslides are induced. The Philippines is facing water insecurity because of degraded and poorly managed watersheds.

How does slash-and-burn affect the environment?

Slash and burn agriculture also results in significant soil erosion and accompanying landslides, water contamination, and/or dust clouds, as without trees and vegetation and their root systems, soil washes away during heavy rains and blows away during droughts.

How did slash and burn both help and hurt the populations?

Slash-and-burn causes temporary deforestation. Ashes from the burnt trees help farmers by providing nutrients for the soil. In low density of human population this approach is very sustainable but the technique is not scalable for large human populations.

Where does slash and burn happen?

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. Such farming is typically done within grasslands and rainforests.

Where is the deforestation in the Philippines?

The losses of Mindoro and Palawan in terms of forest cover make Mimaropa the most deforested region in the Philippines, even if other islands in it such as Marinduque and Romblon recorded some gains. Mimaropa is also a microcosm of the state of forests in the country.

What are the three major causes of deforestation and which is the most significant?

Direct causes of deforestation are agricultural expansion, wood extraction (e.g., logging or wood harvest for domestic fuel or charcoal), and infrastructure expansion such as road building and urbanization. Rarely is there a single direct cause for deforestation.

What place in the Philippines has the most deforestation?

The highest concentration of deforestation has occurred in areas around Roxas, Arceli, Puerto Princesa and Batarasa, according to Mallari. Mallari and his research group also studied forest cover change within the Puerto Princesa Underground River National Park.

How does slash-and-burn agriculture cause deforestation?

One of the issues with slash and burn is that fires intentionally set can unintentionally spread throughout the forest. When fire spreads to unintended areas, the protective forest canopy is destroyed. The resulting sun exposure to the forest floor intensifies the existing fire.

Is slash and burn environmentally friendly?

Ecologically sound slash-and-burn agriculture is sustainable because it does not depend upon outside inputs based on fossil energy for fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation.

What are the benefits of slash and burn agriculture?

When done properly, slash and burn agriculture provides communities with a source of food and income. Slash and burn allows 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.

What are the causes of deforestation in the Philippines?

How much of the Philippines’s forest cover is lost every year?

. A couple of years ago, the Philippine Congress released a study that said about 123,000 hectares of the country’s forest cover are lost every year. Unless reforestation is started, the study further stated, there would be no forest left in the country by 2036 – that’s exactly 23 years from now.

What will happen if there is no forest in Metro Manila?

Without forest, floods are expected to happen – not only in Metro Manila (which has no forest cover to speak of) but also in other parts of the country where deforestation continues. The “flooding problems,” said Aquino in his 2011 SONA, “are caused by the incessant and illegal cutting down of trees.”

How many farmers are forced to slash and burn the forest?

Slashed and burned slope. Photo by Richard Seal 2011. Maybe about 250 million farmers (they are not easy to count) are forced to eke out a living like that on these poor rainforest soils. By slashing and then burning the forest, these farmers can usually sustain themselves for only 2 consecutive years on the same patch of soil.