Shifting Cultivation Systems

This book discusses indigenous practices and obstacles faced by farmers conducting shifting cultivation (jhum) in North-east India and suggests methods of soil fertility improvement through e.g. microbial-mediated rejuvenation of forest fallows as a sustainable approach for mitigating deteriorating jhum lands and enhancing their productivity. Shifting cultivation has experienced a decline in crop productivity due to high population density and shortened fallow length that has impacted upon farmers' socio-economic status, and raised concerns regarding food security and environmental conservation. As shifting cultivation is conducted in moist tropical forests globally supporting millions of people, there is the potential to benefit many populations. This book is suitable for researchers, policy makers, development agencies, NGOs and farmers to formulate strategies that conserve the biodiversity, environment, soil health and traditions of tribal farming communities.

Professor Shri Kant Tripathi is an ecologist with over 30 years of research experience. He received Master’s and Ph.D. in Botany from Kumaun University and Banaras Hindu University, respectively. Presently, he is working in the Department of Forestry at Mizoram University, and has mentored over 17 doctoral and four post-doctoral researchers. He has edited three books and published over 180 research papers/chapters with over 3500 citations. He has visited many countries abroad like UK (1994, 2016), USA (1995, 2005), Nepal (1997), Japan (2002, 2003, 2004), China (2008), Germany (2009), Italy (2017), and France (2019) for short-term and long-term academic activities. He was given the National Award for Excellence in Forestry Research by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun in 2020, and was elected Fellow of Indian Ecological Society in 2023. Prof. Tripathi has been collaborating with ecologists within India and abroad on his research in terrestrial ecosystem ecology including aspects of biodiversity change, biogeochemistry, ecosystem carbon sequestration, plant-soil-microbe interactions, ecosystem sustainability at different spatio-temporal scales, and management regimes under changing environments.Dr Francis Q. Brearley is an ecologist with key research interests in tropical plant-soil interactions and their importance for ecosystem processes. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Sheffield in 2003 and, after short-term appointments at British Antarctic Survey, University of Cambridge and Trinity College, Dublin, joined Manchester Metropolitan University in 2007 and was promoted to Reader in 2022. He has published over 120 papers/chapters and edited one previous book on the impacts of land-use change on soil processes. His work has been supported by various funding agencies including the British Council, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, the Natural Environment Research Council, and the Royal Society for work in numerous countries including French Guiana, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan where he works productively with international collaborators.