ENV100Y5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 36: Maximum Sustainable Yield, Slash-And-Burn, Plantation

• School: UTM
• Department: Environment
• Course: ENV100Y5
• Professor: Barbara Murck

Document Summary

Chapter 10 - part 3. Thursday, november 26, 2015. Agriculture is the major cause of conversion of forests. Agriculture now covers more of the planet"s surface than forest. Principal driver of land conversion today. Swidden agriculture = small area of forest cleared and crops planted = slash and burn agriculture. This is how most agriculture was practices. Sustains only one or two seasons of planting. 7 years required to replenish soil in original clearings to support crops or forests. Only support a couple of years of crop production; abandoned to restore fertility. Deforestation is proceeding rapidly in many developing nations. Plantation forestry has grown in north america. Reforestation = planting of trees after logging. Afforestation = planting of trees where forested cover has not existed for some time. Even- aged trees = all trees are the same age. Clear cutting cost- efficient destroys age structure, ecosystem function leads to erosion.