A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Environment, Resources and Development

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2006

Shifting cultivation, locally known as Khoriya kheti in Nepal is still being practiced by indigenous people like the Chepang despite its very low return. In Nepal the still existing shifting cultivation is a form of increasingly sedentary agriculture with decreasing fallow period of 2-3 years. There is very little information about dynamics of Khoriya kheti in Nepal. Most studies have indicated that socio-economic and political factors like population growth, forest nationalization and different land use acts create pressure on land resulting in decreasing fallow period and negative ecological consequences. There are however very few studies about effects of land use changes on agro crop species diversity and food sufficiency. Thus, this study is intended to establish a relationship between agro biodiversity particularly agro crop diversity and food sufficiency level in the context of a changing shifting cultivation landscape. It also aims to find effects of land use changes said as adoption of hedgerow technology on crop diversity of shifting cultivation. The comparison was carried out between farmers who practiced traditional shifting cultivation and farmers who have modified shifting cultivation by adopting hedgerow technology. The study indicates that shifting cultivators with hedgerow technology have a higher number of agro crop species as compared to traditional shifting cultivators. The introduced hedgerow technology increases in particular forage and fodder species diversity. It also encourages cultivation of other agro crop species by minimizing soil erosion and providing terraces formed due to soil deposition. Food sufficiency is positively correlated with agro crop diversity. Farmers with more agro crop species have more food sufficient months as compared to farmers with less agro crop species. It was also found that hedgerow technology has a greater effect on agro crop diversity. There is a continued decrease of the fallow period resulting in poor forest species diversity, low productivity and poor soil fertility. While agro crop diversity and food sufficiency can be improved by adopting eco-friendly soil management technology like hedgerow. There should be some fallow management program to minimize negative consequences of decreasing fallow period and decreasing fallow biodiversity