Impacts of Slash-and-Burn Cultivation on the Soil and Vegetation of the Atlantic Forest in Southeastern Brazil

Author(s)

Mendes, Barbara Thais Ferreira de Alencar ; Pinheiro, Marcos Roberto ; Barretto, Eduardo Hortal Pereira ; Barreiros, Andre Mateus ; Furquim, Sheila Aparecida Correia ; Villela, Fernando Nadal Junqueira

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Human Ecology; v. N/A, p. 15-pg., 2023-08-01.

Abstract

Conflicts among transnational enterprises, full protection conservation units, and slash-and-burn agriculturalists have historically centered on whether this practice threatens local ecosystems. Our research in the Atlantic Forest (Southeast Brazil) was designed to identify the potential effects of slash-and-burn on soils and vegetation. We collected samples in old cropping areas that have lain fallow for 8, 15, and 60 years. We analyzed the morphological, physical, and chemical properties of the soil samples. We collected vegetation data in 10 x 10 m plots, identified tree species and calculated their basal area. Our morphological and physical data indicate that the soils are not compacted and that the aggregate stability degree increases with time. The chemical data suggest that slash-and-burn practices have not changed the pH or reduced soil fertility, while the vegetation data indicate a long-term recovery. Since our results show sustainable use of slash-and-burn cultivation we recommend land legislation should be designed to safeguard agricultural communities' livelihoods. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/16477-4 - Traditional agriculture and environmental conservation contradictions: a pedological-vegetative analysis of the re-establishment of the Atlantic Forest vegetation in the coivara fallow practiced by the cabocla community of Ribeirão dos Camargos (SP)
• Grantee: Bárbara Thaís Ferreira de Alencar Mendes
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation