Abstract
The slash-and-burn practice of land preparation that farmers use traditionally in forest-based fallow systems in the humid tropics causes land degradation and human health hazards. As an alternative to slash-and-burn, a mechanized, fire-free method of land preparation was evaluated on smallholdings in the eastern Amazon region. The use of machinery for harvesting fallow vegetation and chopping it for mulch eliminates the need for hard labor and fire for land clearing and increases labor productivity. Four different tractor-propelled choppers with power demand of 50 kW to 122 kW were tested. Their chopping capacity varied between 4.5 Mg and 20 Mg of fresh biomass per hour. The mechanized chop-and-mulch technology can be used in fallow vegetation that is up to 12 years old, which in the study region corresponded to 20 Mg to 150 Mg fresh biomass per hectare. Two additional choppers — a stationary silage chopper and ahigh-powered crawler tractorwith a chopping device — were also tested but both were not suitable for smallholder fallow systems. In the context of the mulch technology, new low-input crop varieties were screened and their response to fertilizer was studied. The mulch technology facilitates extended cropping, to plant crops off-season, and modify crop rotation. Degraded fallow vegetation can be improved by enrichment planting using fast-growing leguminous tree species. Financial analysis of different scenarios revealed that farm income and labor productivity from chop-and-mulch systems can be up to two times greater than from the traditional slash-and-burn system.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Akobundu I.O. and Ekeleme F. 2002. Weed seedbank characteristics of arable fields under different fallow management systems in the humid tropical zone of southeastern Nigeria. Agroforest Syst 54 161–170.
Baar R. 1997. Vegetationskundliche und -ökologische Untersuchungen der Buschbrache in der Feldumlagewirtschaft im östlichen Amazonasgebiet. Göttinger Beiträge zur Land-und Forstwirtschaft in den Tropen und Subtropen 121, 202 pp.
Brienza Jr., S. 1999. Biomass dynamics of fallow vegetation enriched with leguminous trees in the eastern Amazon of Brazil. Göttinger Beiträge zur Land-und Forstwirtschaft in den Tropen und Subtropen 134, 133 pp.
Clausing G. 1997. Early regeneration and recolonization of cultivated areas in the shifting cultivation system employed in the eastern Amazon region, Brazil. Nat Resour Dev 45 /46: 76–102.
David S. and Raussen T. 2003. The agronomic and economic potential of tree fallows on scoured terrace benches in the humid highlands of southwestern Uganda. Agric Ecosyst Environ 95: 359–369.
Degrande A. 2001. Farmer assessment and economic evaluation of shrub fallows in the humid lowlands of Cameroon. Agroforest Syst 53: 11–19.
Denich M. 1989. Untersuchungen zur Bedeutung junger Sekundärvegetation für die Nutzungssystemproduktivität im östlichen Amazonasgebiet, Brasilien. Göttinger Beiträge zur Land-und Forstwirtschaft in den Tropen und Subtropen 46, 265 pp.
Denich M., Vlek P.L.G., Abreu Sá T.D. de Vielhauer K. and Lücke W. in press. A concept for the development of fire-free fallow management in the Eastern Amazon, Brazil. Agric Ecosyst Environ (In press).
Diaz M. del C.V., Nepstad D., Mendonça M.J.C., Mota R.S., Alencar A., Gomes J.C. and Ortiz R.A. 2002. O Preço oculto do Fogo na Amazônia: Custos Econômicos Associados ao Uso de Fogo. Report of IPAM/IPEA/WHRC, Belém–PA, Brazil, 43 p. http://www.ipam.org.br/publica/publica-papers.php (November 2003 ).
DIEESE 2002. National Staple Food Basket in 16 capitals of Brazil. DIEESE–Inter Trade Union Department of Statistics and SocioEconomic Studies, http://www.dieese.org.br/ (November 2003).
Franzel, S. and Scherr, S.J. (eds.) 2002. Trees on the Farm. Assessing the Adoption Potential of Agroforestry Practices in Africa. CAB International, Wallingford, UK, 197 pp.
Gallagher R.S., Fernandes E.C.M.and McCallie E.L. 1999. Weed management through short-term improved fallows in tropical agroecosystems. Agroforest Syst 47: 197–221.
Gehring C. 2003. The Role of Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Secondary and Primary Forests of Central Amazonia. Ecology and Development Series 9, Cuvillier, Göttingen, Germany, 170 pp.
Hedden-Dunkhorst B., Denich M., Vielhauer K., MendozaEscalante A., Börner J., Hurtienne T., Sousa Filho F.R. de, Abreu Sá T.D. de and Assis Costa F. de 2003. Forest-based fallow systems: a safety net for smallholders in the Eastern Amazon? Paper presented at the international conference on ‘Rural livelihoods, Forests and Biodiversity’ held in Bonn, Germany on 19–23 May 2003. Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor, Indonesia. http://www.zef.de/research_activities/shift/publications.htm (Accessed November 2003 ).
Hoang Fagerström M.H., Nilsson S.I., van Noordwijk M., Thai Phien O. M., Hansson A. and Svensson C. 2002. Does Tephrosia candida as fallow species, hedgerow or mulch improve nutrient cycling and prevent nutrient losses by erosion on slopes in northern Vietnam? Agric Ecosyst Environ 90: 291–304.
Hohnwald S. 2002. A grass-capoeira pasture fits better than a grass-legume pasture in the agricultural system of smallholdings in the humid Brazilian tropics. Cuvillier, Göttingen, Germany, 136 pp.
IBGE 1998. Censo Agropecuário 1995–1996. Número 5, Pará. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 217 pp.
Jacobi I. 1997. Der Beitrag von Keimlingen zur Regeneration der Brachevegetation im östlichen Amazonasgebiet. Ph.D. thesis, University of Hamburg, Germany, 148 pp.
Kanmegne J. and Degrande A. 2002. From alley cropping to rotational fallow: farmers’ involvement in the development of fallow management techniques in the humid forest zone of Cameroon. Agroforest Syst 54: 115–120.
Kato O.R. 1998. Fire-free land preparation as an alternative to slashand-burn agriculture in the Bragantina region, Eastern Amazon: Crop performance and nitrogen dynamics. Cuvillier, Göttingen, Germany, 132 pp.
Kato M.S.A., Kato O.R., Denich M. and Vlek P.L.G. 1999. Fire-free alternatives to slash-and burn for shifting cultivation in the Eastern Amazon region. The role of fertilizers. Field Crops Res 62: 225–237.
Kaya B., Hildebrand P.E. and Nair P.K.R. 2000. Modeling changes in farming systems with the adoption of improved fallows in southern Mali. Agr Syst 66: 51–68.
Mackensen J., Hölscher D., Klinge R. and Fölster H. 1996. Nutrient transfer to the atmosphere by burning of debris in eastern Amazonia. Forest Ecol Manag 86: 121–128.
McDonald M.A., Healey J.R. and Stevens P.A. 2002. The effects of secondary forest clearance and subsequent land-use on erosion losses and soil properties in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. Agric Ecosyst Environ 92: 1–19.
Mercer E. 2004. Adoption of agroforestry innovations in the tropics: a review. Agroforest Syst (This volume).
Mertz O. 2002. The relationship between length of fallow and crop yields in shifting cultivation: a rethinking. Agroforest Syst 55: 149–159.
Muschler R.G. and Bonnemann A. 1997. Potentials and limitations of agroforestry for changing land-use in the tropics: experiences from Central America. Forest Ecol Manag 91: 61–73.
Nair P.K.R. 1993. An Introduction to Agroforestry. Kluwer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 499 pp.
Nye P.H. and Greenland D.J. 1960. The soil under shifting cultivation. Technical Communication No. 51, Commonwealth Bureau of Soils, Harpenden, UK, 156 pp.
Opio C. 2001. Biological and social feasibility of Sesbania fallow practice in smallholder agricultural farms in developing countries: a Zambian case study. Environ Manag 27: 59–74.
Rouw A. de 1995. The fallow period as a weed-break in shifting cultivation (tropical wet forests). Agric Ecosyst Environ 54: 31– 43.
Sanchez P. 1995. Science in agroforestry. Agroforest Syst 30: 5–55. Sanchez P. 1999. Improved fallows come of age in the tropics. Agroforest Syst 47: 3–12.
Shang C. and Tiessen H. 2000. Carbon turnover and carbon-13 natural abundance in organo-mineral fractions of a tropical dry forest soil under cultivation. Soil Sci Soc Am J 64: 2149–2155.
Sommer R. 2000. Water and nutrient balance in deep soils under shifting cultivation with and without burning in the Eastern Amazon. Cuvillier, Göttingen, Germany, 240 pp.
Sommer R., Denich M. and Vlek P.L.G. 2000. Carbon storage and root penetration in deep soils under small-farmer land-use systems in the eastern Amazon region, Brazil. Plant Soil 219: 231–241.
Thurston H.D. 1997. Slash/Mulch Systems –— Sustainable Methods for Tropical Agriculture. Westview Press, Boulder, CO, 196 pp.
Tian G., Salako F.K., Ishida F. and Zhang J. 2001. Biological res-toration of a degraded Alfisol in the humid tropics using planted woody fallow: synthesis of 8-year-results. pp. 333–337. In: Stott R.H., Mohtar R.H. and Steinhardt G.C. (eds), Sustaining the Global Farm. Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA.
Tiessen H., Cuevas E. and Chacon P. 1994. The role of soil organic matter in sustaining soil fertility. Nature 371: 783 – 785.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Denich, M. et al. (2004). Mechanized land preparation in forest-based fallow systems: The experience from Eastern Amazonia. In: Nair, P.K.R., Rao, M.R., Buck, L.E. (eds) New Vistas in Agroforestry. Advances in Agroforestry, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2424-1_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2424-1_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-6673-2
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-2424-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive