slash-and-burn
Cut then torch
Slash-and-burn is an agricultural method where vegetation is cut down and burned to clear land for planting.
The ash provides temporary nutrients, but the soil quickly depletes, requiring new land to be cleared.
Figuratively, slash-and-burn describes any aggressive, destructive approach that sacrifices long-term sustainability for short-term gains: a slash-and-burn management style, slash-and-burn politics.
Burned forest farmland
- fallowUnplanted field recovering
- subsistenceMinimal means of living
- rotationTurning on an axis
- intercroppingSimultaneous multi-crop cultivation
clearcut · patch · plot · field · seedbed · biomass · crop · tillage
Treeless space in forest
- fellingDowning standing timber
- cuttingDividing via sharp edge
- dryingMoisture removal process
- ignitionStarting combustion process
firebreak · underbrush · vegetation · debris · timber · machete · axe · char
Large-scale woodland elimination
- erosionGradual wearing away
- desertificationLand becoming barren, infertile
- smokeAirborne combustion byproduct
- hazeMurky atmospheric suspension
Following long-held customs
- ancestralOf one's forebears
- tribalOf a clan
- subsistenceMinimal means of living
- indigenousOriginating in a region
customary · communal · smallholder · rural · tropical · rainforest
Cause severe destruction
- devastateDestroy thoroughly and completely
- razeDestroy completely
- scorchBurn superficially
- charBurn without destroying
incinerate · obliterate · strip · denude · scar · damage · irreversible · wasteful
Lacking any compassion
- aggressiveHostile and confrontational
- scorched-earthDestroying all resources before retreat
- drasticSevere and far-reaching
- radicalRoot-indicating symbol
wholesale · indiscriminate · cutthroat · take-no-prisoners · brutal · uncompromising
swidden
Burned forest farmland
- fallowUnplanted field recovering
- subsistenceMinimal means of living
- rotationTurning on an axis
intercropping · clearcut · patch · plot · field · seedbed · biomass · crop · tillage · ray
clearing
Treeless space in forest
ignition · firebreak · underbrush · vegetation · debris · timber · machete · axe · char · stumps
deforestation
Large-scale woodland elimination
- erosionGradual wearing away
- desertificationLand becoming barren, infertile
- smokeAirborne combustion byproduct
traditional
Following long-held customs
- ancestralOf one's forebears
- tribalOf a clan
- subsistenceMinimal means of living
indigenous · customary · communal · smallholder · rural · tropical · rainforest
ravage
Cause severe destruction
char · incinerate · obliterate · strip · denude · scar · damage · irreversible · wasteful · unsustainable
ruthless
Lacking any compassion
- aggressiveHostile and confrontational
- scorched-earthDestroying all resources before retreat
- drasticSevere and far-reaching
radical · wholesale · indiscriminate · cutthroat · take-no-prisoners · brutal · uncompromising
- deforestationclear cutting, clearcutting, clear-cutting, illegal logging, selective logging
- farming culturestraditional farming, traditional agriculture, indigenous farming, indigenous agriculture, farming practices
- indigenous farmingthree sisters, terrace farming, terraces, terracing, maize
- smallholder farmingsubsistence farming, smallholders, smallholdings, family farms, hand tools
- swidden farmingshifting cultivation, swidden, ray, fallow period, fallow fields
- farmingfarm, farms, farmer, farmers, crop
slash-and-burnsustainable agriculture
Farming preserving long-term productivity
permaculture · crop rotation · agroforestry · terracing · organic farming
slash-and-burnincremental
Proceeding by small additions
gradualist · methodical · measured · careful · sustainable
slash-and-burnsustainable
Able to endure long-term
conservationist · stewardship · regenerative · long-term · preservationist