Forest Clearing by Slash and Burn

Abstract

Burning is still the common method used by settlers (Colonos; see Chapter 3 in this volume) to clear the primary forest for new farming areas. Every fire, irrespective of being lit inside or at the edge of the forest, kills the trees by burning or by the emerging heat. A fringe of dead, but not charred, trees is always found where forest has been cleared by fire. Later, when these heat-killed trees have completely dried up, they can be used to start a new fire.