Slash and Burn Affecting Biodiversity

                 The Slash and Burn is a way of getting rid of weeds and unwanted plants, such as trees, so you can prepare a spot for yourself to grow your own food. Even though at the current time when you start burn the last plants from the ground leaving the ground barren. Soon nutrients will come back from the soil from the ashes of the dead plants. The only problem with this is we are taking away homes from other animals that once lived in the area we have “Slashed and burned”. It is an affective way of fertilizing ground and getting rid of unwanted pests and weeds. We, by getting rid of these animals, are perhaps affecting other animals in this same animal’s ecosystem. Although there is conversation that goes on that perhaps really it increases biodiversity making renewed homes for the environment.

            On the other side of this Slash and Burn may in fact not be so helpful. In tropical rain forests because of their high humidity and their heat make the ground very infertile. Using slash and burn you take a big tree and you spread it’s nutrients amongst the ground. Even though it sounds like a great idea really you are taking away of the grounds nutrients more then you are helping it. In tropical rain forests the plants have adapted to the ground and henceforth are good at storing small amounts of nutrients inside of themselves. So when burned the nutrients quickly get stolen and are washed away. In the end you are left with dead almost worthless ground. This also goes hand in hand with Global Warming. By taking away these trees and leaving the ground worthless so that trees can not grow anymore. The large carbon tissues in this giant tropical forest trees is put to waist and we have more carbon pressure in the atmosphere.

            In truth Slash and burn can be positive and not harmful to the environment in different habitats. Although in a Tropical Rain Forest it can take away nutrients and kill off many endangered species. When slash and burn can be practiced in small fertile parts though it can be very productive. It will go through this one way cycle where it will help grow plants and not affect the environment and population around it. In conclusion to this subject: although Slash and Burn is mostly considered harmful biologically it can be productive when used correctly.