Post-fire restoration of land under shifting cultivation: A case study of pineapple agroforestry in the Sub-Himalayan region

Abstract

Access to the knowledge associated with traditional and/or indigenous land-use systems can help develop adaptive strategies, more productive systems and, design sustainable development models and technologies. This article describes the evolution of traditional pineapple (Ananas comosus) agroforestry systems (PAFS) developed by the ethnic Hmar communities as a strategy for the restoration of land under slash-and-burn agriculture in the Sub-Himalayan region. We critically examine the social and ecological perspectives on rural livelihoods and environmental management, and documented the native tree species managed under different age groups of PAFS. We also interviewed farm managers to gain insights into the traditional farming practices and the uses and services of the different multipurpose tree species (MPTs) along with their traditional management. The study showed that PAFS are an integral part of the rural landscape in the study region exemplifying unique agroforestry systems that have evolved as a strategy to improve land under slash-and-burn on hilly landscapes. PAFS are post-fire sedentary systems evolving as a by-product of shifting agriculture. The system combines pineapple crops with remnant fallow vegetation and subsequent plantations of cash-oriented MPTs in the same farmland. MPTs such as the critically endangered Aquilaria malaccensis and the economically important tree bean (Parkia timoriana), which is no longer found in the wild are largely conserved in the PAFS. Our study demonstrates that PAFS can play a vital role in post-fire restoration of land under slash-and-burn agriculture, which is still practiced among many tribes in the Indian Eastern Himalayas.