Pja. Kleinman et al., ASSESSING ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY OF SLASH-AND-BURN AGRICULTURE THROUGH SOIL FERTILITY INDICATORS, Agronomy journal, 88(2), 1996, pp. 122-127
The objective of this study was to assess the near- and long-term impa
ct of traditional slash-and-burn agriculture on soil fertility in the
village of Kembera, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Soil fertility is wide
ly viewed as one of the key limits to sustainable production in slash-
and-burn agroecosystems. A chronosequence of sites ranging from curren
tly cultivated swiddens to a 28-yr fallow was surveyed. Organic C, cat
ion exchange capacity (CEC), pH, nitrate, extractable basic cations, a
vailable and total P, and extractable Al were measured as indicators o
f soil fertility Inferred short-term trends point to significantly imp
roved soil fertility conditions after burning in currently cropped swi
ddens relative to falloffs. During the fallow, soil organic C, CEC, ni
trate, total P, and extractable basic cations all manifest positive as
sociations with fallow length after 3 to 11 yr of fallow; No declines
in soil parameters were detected between plots based on the frequency
of past slash-and-burn activity Therefore, there is no evidence that s
lash-and-burn agriculture in Kembera has degraded these soil resources
. While the results of this study suggest that slash-and-burn agricult
ure in Kembera has been ecologically sustainable, recent changes in so
cioeconomic factors influencing farmer's land-use decisions cast doubt
upon the future sustainability of this agroecosystem.