Download or read book Slash-and-Burn Agriculture written by Cheryl Palm and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2005-08-17 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Caused in part by the slash-and-burn practices of both large- and small-scale farmers, the environmental implications of tropical deforestation remain a worldwide concern. Yet the small-scale farmers who use slash-and-burn agriculture depend on it to produce food and make a living for their families. With contributions from scientists, economists, ecologists, and anthropologists, this book provides an overall analysis of the environmental, economic, and social reasons for why slash and burn is so common and presents alternatives to this destructive practice.