A shifting cultivation land use system under population pressure in Zambia

The status of chitemene shifting cultivation, in northern Zambia was investigated and reviewed. This paper presents results concerning (a) changes in soil nutrients under chitemene shifting cultivation, (b) the relationship between population density and deforestation and (c) how the chitemene shifting cultivation system has survived under conditions of overpopulation relative to the critical population density.In the chitemene shifting cultivation system crops are grown in a small ash garden made by burning a pile of wood cleared from a larger area. The burning increased soil NH₃–N content by 40–50%, with a further increase of 15% after 262 mm of rainfall. In contrast, the soil in unburnt plots lost up to 30% NH₃–N. The content of other major nutrients, such as, P,K, Ca, Mg, and Na also increased in the top soil immediately after burning. The increase in soil NH₃–N after burning is attributed to the reduction in microbacterial activity. These soil nutrient changes appear essential in the production of finger millet.However, the growing rural population in the chitemene shifting cultivation region of northern Zambia has caused deforestation which has resulted in the reduction of (a) the length of the fallow period from 25 years to 12 years, (b) the per person woodland requirement of m 1.1 ha to 0.53 ha and (c) the frequency of clearing new chitemene gardens from yearly to once in two years. These responses to diminishing wood resources have artificially increased the population carrying capacity from 2.4 to 18.7 persons per km². This has enabled the survival of the chitemene shifting cultivation land use system in northern Zambia.