What drives clearing of old-growth forest over secondary forests in tropical shifting cultivation systems? Evidence from the Peruvian Amazon

A key issue in understanding tropical forest disturbance is what drives farmers practicing customary shifting cultivation to clear crop fields in old-growth forest over secondary forest fallows. These farmers typically hold a stock of secondary forest fallows that can be used for cropping in rotation, built up over time in part through initial clearing of old-growth forest. In this paper we examine the most recent field cleared by 2046 indigenous and folk peasant households in 138 communities along three major rivers of the Peruvian Amazon to identify the factors that influence their choice of field location (upland or lowland forests) and type of forest cleared (old-growth or secondary). Data are drawn from a large-scale household and community surveys and remote sensing analysis of Landsat and ArcGIS Worldview imagery. We find that rates of old-growth forest clearing are low and that such land quickly returns to secondary forest cover: about 31% of households cleared forest on the upland (terra firme) but only 8% of households cleared upland old-growth forest. Regression modeling results identify the contextual, historical and household factors that influence the choice to clear upland forest (old-growth or secondary). Access to lowland for floodplain agriculture is associated with lower rates of old-growth forest clearing and higher educational attainment of household heads with increased clearing. Analysis of household land portfolios points to the importance of the size of land holdings, the degree of upland orientation, and the number and age of fallows held at the time of the forest clearing decision in clearing old-growth forest on the upland. Measures to reduce old-growth forest loss around Amazonian communities are discussed.