The major disadvantage of this method is deforestation. Though the ashes may increases the soil fertility, it may remain fertile for only a short span of time. After which the farmer has to search a new land, uproot the trees and proceed with farming.

Swidden agriculture

One of the disadvantages of using slash and burn agriculture is deforestation. When this type of agriculture is practiced by large populations, they have to cut down a lot of trees to grow new crops. This leads to an increase in carbon dioxide levels. Furthermore, these high levels of CO2 boost climate change effects.

2. No crop residue may be burned if the area to be burned extends, in the case of cereal straw or cereal stubble, to more than 10 hectares, and in any other case to more than 20 hectares. (ii)all crop residues on the intervening land are incorporated into the soil before burning takes place.

Paddy residue left by harvesters takes one-and-half months to decompose while farmers don’t have sufficient time to sow their next crop, wheat. Stubble burning is a quick, cheap and efficient way to prepare soil bed for wheat, the next crop.

In the longer term, another way to reduce stubble burning is to replace long-duration paddy varieties with shorter duration varieties like Pusa Basmati-1509 and PR-126, which can be harvested in the third week of September itself.

The alternative approach is stubble management. Instead of burning straw by setting your land on fire, you could use machines that help you sow your next crop without actually burning anything. For instance, consider paddy (rice) harvesting. Most farmers use a combine harvester.

These gaseous emissions can result in health risk, aggravating asthma, chronic bronchitis and decrease lung function. Burning of crop residue also contributes indirectly to the increased ozone pollution. It has adverse consequences on the quality of soil.

Each spring farmers and other land managers use controlled burns (also called prescribed burns) to put nutrients back into the soil and revitalize the land. Fire breaks down that plant matter and releases the nutrients so they are available to the soil and can help promote future plant growth.

Prescribed (planned and controlled) pasture burning adds valuable nutrients to the soil, especially nitrogen. It promotes grass growth, and research has shown that cattle grazed on pastures that use prescribed burning as part of their management plan gain more weight, which translates to better returns for the rancher.

Burning ditches removes standing and accumulated vegetation material to improve the flow of water while also reducing weeds, insects and disease.