The Effect of Fallow Period Length on the Abundance and Diversity of Usable Plant Assemblages in Shifting Cultivation System (Swidden Agriculture) in Northern Laos

• Autorzy: Delang C. O. , Weiyi X. , Brooke B. , Chun K. P.

Identyfikatory

DOI

10.3161/15052249PJE2016.64.3.005

• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Shifting cultivation, or swiddening, involves alternating cycles of cropping and fallow periods. Rather than being abandoned, the fallow swidden fields provide a source of important plant products for remote, forest-dwelling human communities. In northern Laos, the traditional length of fallow periods used to range between five and 11 years, depending on the availability of land and quality of the soil. Fallow periods are currently being shortened because of population pressures and government policies. To determine the potential impacts of shorter fallow periods, 128 swidden fallows of various ages (up to 20 years), located at altitudes between 400 and 800 m a.s.l. in northern Laos were sampled for usable plants. The impact of fallow length on plant abundance and species diversity was analysed. The number of usable plant species was found to increase with the fallow age until it was 11–12 years old, and then decline, while the abundance of usable plants increased beyond that period. We conclude that shorter fallows will result in a significantly smaller usable plant abundance and species diversity for the villagers. We propose that 11–12-year-long fallows should be considered in order to fully exploit the greater plant volume of older fallows as well as the compositional shift of species in fallows over time.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

shifting cultivation; fallow length; plant abundance; species diversity; ethnobotany; subsistence economy; Lao PDR

PL

przesunięcie uprawy; rolnictwo wypaleniskowe; rolnictwo żarowe; rolnictwo wędrowne; rolnictwo z odłogowaniem; płodozmian; czas zostawiania ziemi odłogiem; bogactwo roślin; różnorodność gatunków; etnobotanika; gospodarka naturalna; Laos; Laotańska Republika Ludowo-Demokratyczna

• Wydawca: Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Czasopismo: Polish Journal of Ecology
• Rocznik: 2016
• Tom: Vol. 64, nr 3
• Strony: 350--356
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 14 poz., rys., tab., wykr.

Twórcy

autor

Delang C. O.

• Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

autor

Weiyi X.

• Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

autor

Brooke B.

• Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), Fort Worth, Texas 76107, USA

autor

Chun K. P.

• Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

Bibliografia

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• [4] Delang C. O. 2007 — Ecological succession of usable plants in an eleven-year fallow cycle in northern Lao P.D.R. — Ethno. Res. Appl. 5: 331–350.
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• [8] Mertz O. 2002 — The relationship between length of fallow and crop yields in shifting cultivation: a rethinking — Agrofor. Syst. 55: 149–159.
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• [10] R Core Team 2011 — R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL https://www.R-project.org/.
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• [13] Schmidt-Vogt D. 1998 — Defining degradation: the impacts of swidden on forests in Northern Thailand — Mt. Res. Dev. 18: 135–149.
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Uwagi

Opracowanie ze środków MNiSW w ramach umowy 812/P-DUN/2016 na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.