Glossary
Slash and Burn - agricultural system involving burning the natural vegetation as a means of clearing fields prior to planting. [Source]
Deforestation- the rate of loss of vegetation or forest being greater than the rate of regrowth. [Source]
Topsoil- the extreme upper part of the Earth’s surface, extending downward only 2 – 12 inches (5.08 – 30.48 centimeters). It is inextricably intertwined with ecosystem stability, because it contains the necessary minerals and nutrients that living things — including the plants that directly or indirectly support thousands of species — require. [Source]
Conversion- clearing and burning of native vegetation serve the combined function of removing shading canopies, reducing pest competition and removing other physical impediments to cropping. [24]
Cropping - Soil organic matter generally declines during the cropping period because of increased decay and limited replacement. [24]
Fallow- serve to halt soil degradation and to restore fertility and other soil conditions that were degraded by conversion and cropping. [24]
Agroecosystem- are ecosystems in which humans exerted a deliberate selectivity on the composition of the biota, i.e. the crops and livestock maintained by the farmer, replacing to a greater or lesser degree the natural flora and fauna of the site. The establishment and management of a modified and simplified plant community, often including exotic species, infulences the composition and activities of the associated herbivore, predator, symiont and decomposer sub-communities. [27]
Sustainability in agriculture- as the ability of an agroecosystem to maintain long-term production stability based on ecological, social and economic soundness. [24]
https://drive.google.com/?pli=1#folders/0B52lDO7nZcS8S3BWck9USHhOVTQ
Deforestation- the rate of loss of vegetation or forest being greater than the rate of regrowth. [Source]
Topsoil- the extreme upper part of the Earth’s surface, extending downward only 2 – 12 inches (5.08 – 30.48 centimeters). It is inextricably intertwined with ecosystem stability, because it contains the necessary minerals and nutrients that living things — including the plants that directly or indirectly support thousands of species — require. [Source]
Conversion- clearing and burning of native vegetation serve the combined function of removing shading canopies, reducing pest competition and removing other physical impediments to cropping. [24]
Cropping - Soil organic matter generally declines during the cropping period because of increased decay and limited replacement. [24]
Fallow- serve to halt soil degradation and to restore fertility and other soil conditions that were degraded by conversion and cropping. [24]
Agroecosystem- are ecosystems in which humans exerted a deliberate selectivity on the composition of the biota, i.e. the crops and livestock maintained by the farmer, replacing to a greater or lesser degree the natural flora and fauna of the site. The establishment and management of a modified and simplified plant community, often including exotic species, infulences the composition and activities of the associated herbivore, predator, symiont and decomposer sub-communities. [27]
Sustainability in agriculture- as the ability of an agroecosystem to maintain long-term production stability based on ecological, social and economic soundness. [24]
https://drive.google.com/?pli=1#folders/0B52lDO7nZcS8S3BWck9USHhOVTQ