slash and burn
Cut then ignite
Slash and burn is an agricultural method where vegetation is cut down and burned to clear land for planting.
The ash fertilizes the soil temporarily, but the practice depletes nutrients quickly and contributes to deforestation: Slash-and-burn farming has destroyed vast stretches of rainforest.
Figuratively, slash-and-burn describes aggressive, destructive approaches: slash-and-burn budget cuts, slash-and-burn politics.
Burned forest farmland
- shifting cultivationMigratory crop-growing practice
- fallowUnplanted field recovering
- subsistence farmingGrowing food for household
- intercroppingSimultaneous multi-crop cultivation
crop rotation · tropical farming · smallholder · land clearing · traditional farming · regrowth
Wet tropical woodland ecosystem
- clearcuttingHarvesting every standing tree
- habitat lossElimination of living spaces
- biodiversityRange of life forms
- erosionGradual wearing away
ecosystem · smoke · wildfire · soil depletion · environmental damage · forest fire · tropical forest · jungle
Lacking any compassion
- aggressiveHostile and confrontational
- drasticSevere and far-reaching
- scorched earthDestroy all useful resources
- destructiveCausing severe harm
cutthroat · radical · wholesale · indiscriminate · brutal · unsparing · take-no-prisoners · extreme measures
swidden
Burned forest farmland
- shifting cultivationMigratory crop-growing practice
- fallowUnplanted field recovering
- subsistence farmingGrowing food for household
intercropping · crop rotation · tropical farming · smallholder · land clearing · traditional farming · regrowth
rainforest
Wet tropical woodland ecosystem
- clearcuttingHarvesting every standing tree
- habitat lossElimination of living spaces
- biodiversityRange of life forms
erosion · ecosystem · smoke · wildfire · soil depletion · environmental damage · forest fire · tropical forest · jungle · watershed
ruthless
Lacking any compassion
- aggressiveHostile and confrontational
- drasticSevere and far-reaching
- scorched earthDestroy all useful resources
destructive · cutthroat · radical · wholesale · indiscriminate · brutal · unsparing · take-no-prisoners · extreme measures · no holds barred
- farming methodsintercropping, polyculture, mixed farming, companion planting, strip cropping
- environmental harmair pollution, water pollution, pollution, oil spills, acid rain
- deforestationclear cutting, clearcutting, clear-cutting, illegal logging, selective logging
- fire usesburning, campfire, bonfire, grilling, roasting
- Old Farmingplowing, harvesting, sowing, threshing, winnowing
- African farmingmaize, cassava, sorghum, millet, yams
slash and burnsustainable agriculture
Farming preserving long-term productivity
permaculture · regenerative farming · crop rotation · agroforestry · organic farming
slash and burnconservation
Preventing waste or loss
stewardship · sustainable management · preservation · long-term planning · ecological restoration