It’s also known as slash and burn cultivation. In this, farmers burn out the remaining land after crops are harvested for the next crop to grow in the coming time.
Shifting cultivation improves soil erosion, depletes forest cover, and disturbs the natural water flow, harming watersheds through deforestation and degradation of soil and water.
Shifting cultivation causes biodiversity loss by clearing land and disturbing ecosystems. It reduces habitat availability which impacts plant and animal species in the areas.
Shifting cultivation limits land use intensity by rotating plots, allowing fallow periods for soil recovery, preventing overexploitation, and sustaining ecosystem health.
Shifting cultivation risks water pollution through soil erosion, as clearing and burning increase sediment runoff, potentially contaminating water sources with agricultural sediments.
Shifting cultivation becomes uneconomical due to short-term fertility, deforestation, and biodiversity loss, impacting long-term agricultural sustainability and the need for food.