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Haiti vs. Dominican Republic - Haiti appears barren and Dominican Republic has a lot more greenery and
forests. Haiti had to clear forests for fuel while the Dominican republic has other fuel sources.
Is Agroforestry a new or old? - Both because it is constantly continuing
New and Old practice - some cultures have done variations on this for hundreds of years, also new ideas
and tech used now
Tropical home garden - intensive vertical utilization of small plots of ground near the home to supply
Tropical Agroforestry crops - maize, beans, squash, cassava, coffee, papaya, latex, honey, chicle, goats,
chickens, camels, fuelwood, wood products
Swidden or Shifting Agriculture - also called slash and burn, the tropical forest is used as a temporary
area for farming. They burn and create an area, crops are planted and harvested by hands on these
small plots. After a few years, the site is abandoned because the soil fertility is exhausted. So move to
new spot. The trees regrow on site and begin building up a new store of nutrients. It could take a 100 yrs
to get back to original level of production
Is slash and burn or swidden sustainable in the tropics? - The majority opinion is no, but it really
depends on how many people are doing it. Tribes in the tropics have been doing this for thousands of
years. In some cases the environment evolves to survive in that way. If there are too many people the
environment can't handle it
Swidden Ag now - because of population growth they are only letting places grow back for 20 yrs which
is not enough time to reset
Biochar - terra preta (black earth), discovered in 1871, now we know it was an intentional practice of
native peoples from at least 8,000 years ago. Greatly improves productivity, nutrient availability, water
storage. They burn wood at low oxygen environment and then bury it then it improves soil quality.