Climate, soil and man

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The practice of agriculture, whether pastoral or arable, represents an imposed change of the ecosystem. Ecosystems vary in their stability and such influences, by altering the components of microclimate and vegetation, may produce effects which early man may not have foreseen. In certain circumstances of climate and soil, even swiddening can produce detectable effects in soil chemistry, as reflected in the soil profile, and in the secondary vegetation. Once clearance and land use become more extensive, change of the soil-vegetation complex may become more marked, leading to soil degradation and even wind or water erosion. Accompanying changes in microclimate may make it more difficult for regeneration processes to take place. The continued impact of periodical burning and the grazing of man’s chosen domestic stock can produce changes no less important than those brought about by arable farming.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: