Shifting cultivation, also known as slash-and-burn agriculture, is a traditional farming practice where farmers clear a plot of land, burn the vegetation to release nutrients, and then grow crops for a few years before abandoning the plot and moving on to a new one. This practice has been widely used by indigenous communities in tropical regions for centuries. Synonyms for shifting cultivation may include rotational farming, swidden agriculture, and shifting agriculture. While shifting cultivation may have been sustainable when practiced at a small scale, the increasing demand for land and changing climate patterns have led to its negative impacts, including deforestation, soil degradation, and loss of biodiversity.