Slash-and-burn farming was blamed for destroying rainforests, but a study something different

Unwritten social rules, not government oversight, help keep forest land sustainable Slash-and-burn farming was blamed for destroying rainforests, but a study of 18,000 forest patches found community rules can limit clearing and allow trees to return.Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research shows that unwritten social rules in small communities keep land use under control, providing food while protecting long-term forest health.The global study was led by Sean Downey, an associate professor of anthropology at The Ohio State University. It looked at swidden agriculture, one of the oldest ways humans farm. For about 10,000 years, villagers in warm climate zones have cut down small plots of trees, burned the dry branches to feed the soil, and grown crops until the land needed a break.Many critics have long argued that this practice ruins entire rainforests, but satellite images and computer models show a different picture.How unwritten rules protect treesThe research team brought together experts in anthropology, physics, math, and satellite imagery to study farming spots across Central and South America, sub-Saharan Africa, and parts of Asia. They...