(Slash-and-burn agriculture)

(Slash-and-burn agriculture) In shifting cultivation, plots of natural tree vegetation are burnt away and the cleared patches are farmed for - seasons, after which their fertility reduces to a point where crop production is no longer profitable. The farmer then abandons this patch and cuts down a new patch of forest trees elsewhere for crop production. This system is practiced in north-eastern regions of India. When vast areas are cleared and burnt, it results in loss of forest cover, pollution and discharge of CO which in turn attributes to loss of habitat and climate change which has an impact on the faunal diversity of that regions. XII Std Biology-Zoology Chapter- XII Std Biology-Zoology Chapter- Biodiversity and its Conservation on biodiversity. Direct human activities like change in local land use, species introduction or removal, harvesting, pollution and climate change contribute a greater pressure on loss of biodiversity. Indirect human drivers include demographic, economic, technological, cultural and religious factors. Even though new species are being discovered, there is little hope for adding new species through speciation into the biodiversity treasure. Monsoon failure, global warming, depletion in ozone layer, landslides in hilly states, pollution are a few indirect effects of human activities which results in the loss biodiversity. IUCN Red List ( ) documents the extinction of species in the years. It is estimated that the current rate of biodiversity loss is to times higher than the naturally occurring extinction rate and is still expected to grow in the future. This loss of biodiversity has a immense impact on plant animal and human life. The negative effects include dramatic influence on the food web. Even reduction in one species can adversely affect the entire food chain which further leads to an overall reduction in biodiversity. Reduced biodiversity leads to immediate danger for food security by reducing ecosystem services.