Sustainable Agriculture and Food: Four volume set (Earthscan Reference Collections)

Alternatives to Slash-and-Burn 353

Table 15.1

Selected site characterization parameters for the ASB benchmark areas

Characterization parameter

Western Amazon, Brazil

Southern Cameroon Sumatran Lowlands,

Indonesia

Selva Baja of Peru

Ma Chaem, North Thailand

Rainfall (mm/yr)

1700–2400

1400–1900

2500–3000

1500–2200

1200–1500

Latitude

7–12°S

2–4°N

0–6°S

6–12°S

20°N

Months dry season (<100mm)

June–September

July–August; October–February

June–August

June–August

November–April

Dominant original vegetation

Tropical moist forest; semideciduous forest

Tropical moist forest; semideciduous forest

Tropical moist forest

Tropical moist forest

Tropical semideciduous montane forest

Predominant soils (US Soil Taxonomy)

Paleudults, hapludox

Kandiudults

Hapludox, kandiudox, kandiudults, dystrudepts

Paleudults, paleaqualfs

Haplustults, dystrustepts

Population density (people/km

2 )

3–5

4–200

2–175

1–9

20

Farm size (ha/household)

15–250

a

5–30

2–10

2–50

2.4–16

Agricultural wage (US$/d)

b

6.25

1.21

1.67

2.5

1.45, 1.75

C

Notes

a:

Indicates small-scale farms as initially defined for Brazil.

b Wage rates are from 1996–1997.c For women and men, respectively.Source

: Modified from Tomich et al (1998b)