Shifting cultivation on a steep forested slope in Central America. This field was recently converted from tropical rainforest to agricultural land.

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Stages of the shifting cultivation cycle are removal of the natural vegetation, growth of crops for a few years, abandonment when problems such as weed competition, pest infestation or declining soil fertility appear, re-establishment of a volunteer plant community during a fallow phase, and re-clearing, usually in 2 to 3 decades. This form of agriculture is widely practiced in the tropics.

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Size: 3060px × 2004px
Location: Toledo District, Belize
Photo credit: © Rosanne Tackaberry / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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