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Erin Arndt

Dr. Freymiller

RCL 138

11 April 2017

Where Theres Smoke Theres Fire

Driving on an old country road, glancing at the landscape, there are rows and rows of soy

and cotton fields. Just beyond the fields where there used to be a lush, dense green forest

blocking the horizon, there is thick black smoke bellowing from the hot flames spreading across

the downed trees. The people of these farming communities continue to drive past, not concerned

by the fire consuming the forest. That fire is intentional, and it is strategically used to manipulate

the environment to allow for intensive agriculture production. This is no ordinary farm country,

but that of modern day Brazil. This fiery method of agriculture is typical of tropical

environments like that of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, and is called swidden agriculture

(Butler). The Brazilian government should place more strict regulations on swidden agricultural

practices because they are harmful to the environment. Irreversibly damaged land, excessive

deforestation, high rates of nutrient depletion, as well increasing greenhouse gas emissions are

all viable reasons for environmental concern and merit government level management of

swidden agricultural practices.

Swidden agriculture has been around for centuries; it is an ancient agricultural practice

used by small farming communities to produce sustenance for the community without creating a

surplus of food. It is commonly practiced in rainforest climates or climates near the equator like

Latin America (Pereira). Latin America, specifically Brazil, still experiences high rates of

swidden agriculture being practiced today (Pereira). In the last thirty years Brazils
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industrializing economy boosted its agricultural production as well (Pereira). This boost in

agricultural production was rooted in the notion that since rainforest soils were highly weathered

and not productive on their own, they could only be of use for agricultural means to further the

development of Brazil (Bezerra). This intensive agricultural mindset that Brazil developed

during the mid twentieth century ultimately established swidden agriculture as the main land

clearing and cultivation method used in Brazil today (Fujisaka). Even though new agricultural

techniques such as fertilizers and irrigation systems were introduced to the region, the traditional

methods of clearing plots of land, burning them, and growing crops remain (et. al). Swidden

agriculture is practiced in areas where soils are less fertile and there is not enough clear open

land for agriculture (Bezerra). Since these soils are typically less fertile and people introduce

fertilizers into the soil in addition to the swidden agricultural process (Butler). The first step

involves cutting down all the vegetation in the desired growing area. Next all the vegetation is

left to dry and then burned (Butler). The vegetation, even after burning, retains major nutrients

that are then tilled into the soil allowing for it to retain nutrients for a short period of time

(Butler). The soil in the cleared region, after having the vegetative ash tilled into it, is fertile for

about three to five years for crops to grow (Butler).

When used on small scales for small indigenous tribes and clans, this type of agriculture

can be maintained without damaging the local environment. However, when it is used over

hundreds of plots of land dotting the landscape, it is incredibly destructive to the rainforest

environment and in most cases it has caused irreversible damage. As more and more arable land

is irreversibly damaged in Brazil there should be more regulations set in place to prevent this

from occurring in the future. The process of swidden agriculture does not prevent the regrowth of

the forest if practiced at a small; this is how indigenous groups practice it which also maintains
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its sustainability. Although this may be true for small scale practices, when practiced at a large

intensive scale it can cause significant ecological damage (Bezerra). Since the industrialization

of Brazil during the mid twentieth century there has been an increase in agricultural use of its

rural rainforests (Pereira). When the plot of land that has been used for cultivation is used

intensively and not given a sufficient fallow period, it causes the soil to become infertile and lose

its nutrient holding capacity (Bezerra). The Amazon rainforest is home to many unique and

indigenous species of plants and animals as well. Some of the species only live particular areas

of the rainforest, and when large areas of the forest are cut burned and cleared, there is high risk

for these species to become endangered and or extinct (Butler). In addition to clearing the

forests, fertilizer that is often applied in the process runs off into local streams killing fish and

aquatic life (Butler). Losing the diverse variety of rainforest plant and animal species is

important to be aware of because losses in biodiversity limit the rainforests ability to regenerate

these species that are unique to the rainforest ecosystem (Butler).

When swidden agriculture is practiced responsibly it is a sustainable way for small

communities to grow enough food for them to survive; this is also known as subsistence farming

(Stief). There was a significant increase in the amount of communities practicing this method of

agriculture since Brazils industrialization and promotion of agricultural production in the mid

twentieth century (Pereira). The increase in the amount of people caused more and more

deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest as their agricultural practices became more intensive,

devastating the tropical rainforests (Stief). Swidden agriculture switched from being a method to

grow just enough sustenance for a small community to a method where mass amounts of cash

crops were being grown for economic export (Stief). This switch caused larger areas of land to

be cleared more often to keep up with the cash crop demands, thus leading to rapid deforestation;
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large shifts in agricultural practices like this should be managed to reduce excessive forest

clearing. Deforestation has numerous detrimental impacts on the environment. Rainforest trees

can have up to a 200-700 year cultivations cycle, and if a 5-8 year swidden rotation is practiced

on a rainforest area like this, the cultivation periods clearly do not match up, resulting in

ecological devastation of the impacted area (Stief). By 1985, 370 million hectares, about 28% of

Latin American forests were cleared since 1850. Of that cleared land, 69% of it was converted to

pasture and cropland (Fujisaka). Clearing mass amounts of rainforest vegetation causes the large

amounts of deforestation in the region resulting in temporary or permanent loss of the vegetation

and a loss of biodiversity in the affected area (Stief). Because of the rapid rates at which the

crops are rotated, the soil loses significant amounts of nutrients that are vital for growing the

crops farmers are trying to plant. Also, the nutrient loss in the soil prevents any natural vegetative

regrowth from occurring even if that area of land were given an appropriate fallow period after

the fact (Stief).

Farmers that practice swidden agriculture typically have several plots of land in rotation

at once that are usually close in proximity to each other. If practiced responsibly, the plots of

land would be more spaced out preventing soil damage. The plots of land would also be given a

sufficient fallow period, a period of rest, where they are left to regrow the forest vegetation

(Bezerra). The fallow period, typically lasting about 20 years, allows for the depleted land to

regain nutrients and organic matter to maintain the soils fertility (Bezerra). This is where the

problem comes into play; individuals who practice this agricultural technique most often ignore

the fallow step and move on to a new area of land and deplete its nutrients there (Bezerra). The

high rates of nutrient depletion in the affected soils is not only a cause for concern because it can

cause irreversible damage to the tropical rainforest, but it should warrant more monitoring and
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restrictions being placed on farmers practicing swidden agriculture. When the nutrients in the

soil are depleted this allows for the soils pH to decrease, meaning the soil is more acidic, which

ultimately becomes toxic to plant life (Butler). Also the plots of land that are supposed to be in

fallow are sometimes used again with only two to five years fallow leading to extreme depletion

of the soil nutrients, ultimately depleting them permanently (Bezerra). The fallow periods are too

short and result in an overall loss of soil organic matter and nutrients that cannot be easily

reintroduced to the soil (Bezerra). This means that the swidden agricultural method is not self

supporting; it cannot regain the nutrients necessary to sustain vegetative life, therefore ultimately

stripping the land of any fertility. This means that swidden agriculture is unsustainable in its very

nature because fallow periods are too short for the intensive agriculture being practiced to be

productive in Brazil, creating an exponential trend in soil degradation (Stief). The high amount

of farmers who are using swidden agriculture intensively are turing acres and acres of once lush,

green, rainforest into flat barren infertile fields of unusable acidic soil.

Swidden agriculture is also known as slash and burn agriculture, because the first step

involves clearing the vegetation in the desired plot of land, leaving it to dry and burning it,

produces large amounts of smoke and ash. Massive sections of forest are cleared to allow for

large crop rotations and to make up for the small period of time that the land will be fertile.

Burning acres and acres worth of trees, foliage and other rainforest vegetation produces a large

amounts of smoke, riddled with carbon dioxide and other forms of carbon that are easily released

into the atmosphere (ABC Sector Plan). Deforestation that took place during the 1990s released

about 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon every year during that decade (Bezerra). With greenhouse

gases becoming an ever growing problem in todays society, from increasing global temperatures

to extreme climate changes, the amount of carbon that is being pumped into the atmosphere
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because of tropical rainforest deforestation is a cause for serious concern (ABC Sector Plan).

Swidden agriculture depends on deforestation through fire clearing methods, making Brazil the

fourth largest producer of atmospheric carbon after the U.S. who comes in third (Fujisaka). In

addition to deforestation contributing alarming amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, when the

vegetation is burned, the residual ash that is left behind is also able to be leaked into the

atmosphere as well as accumulate into concentrated areas in the soil (Bezerra). The large amount

of carbon ash that accumulates in the soil often reaches levels that are not only toxic for plant

life, but for human life as well (Butler). Swidden agriculture in Brazil should be more regulated

because large rates of deforestation lead to harmful amounts of carbon and greenhouse gases

being released into the atmosphere.

Swidden agriculture in Brazil and its inherently destructive nature irreversibly damages

land, causes excessive deforestation, creates alarming rates nutrient depletion in rainforest soils,

and colossally increases greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. All of these side effects

not only degrade the local environment, but the global environment as well. The alarming rates at

which the Amazon rainforest is being destroyed because of swidden agriculture merit the

implementation of regulations, monitoring and inspections at the government level of farmers

who practice swidden agricultural. As we progress into the twenty first century we should be

more cognizant of the world around us and how we can impact it ruinous ways; we should no

longer turn a blind eye to environmentally degrading practices like that of swidden agriculture,

especially when we understand the adverse repercussions of such practices.

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Works Cited

ABC Sector Plan. Low Carbon Agriculture. Embrapa. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.

Bezerra, Joana. The Brazilian Amazon. Springer International. 2015. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.

Butler, Rhett. Subsistence Agriculture and Deforestation. Mongbay. 27 Jul. 2012. Web. 22

Mar. 2017.

---. The Impact of Industrial Agriculture In Rainforests. Mongbay. 28 Jul. 2012. Web. 22 Mar.

2017.

Fujisaka, Sam., et al. Slash and Burn Agriculture. Elsevier B. V. 1996. Web. 20 Mar. 2017

Pereira, Pedro. The Development of Brazilian Agriculture. Agriculture and Food Security.

BioMed Central Ltd. 19 Apr. 2012. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.

Stief, Colin. Slash and Burn Agriculture. Though Co. About, Inc. 28 Feb. 2017. Web. 22 Mar.

2017.