Keywords

1 Introduction

Swidden agriculture is an important food production system in mountainous tropical regions. In a swidden system, a part of the forest is cleared, burned, and used to grow crops in the rainy season, and then abandoned for regeneration of vegetation. The area left to regenerate, the secondary fallow forest, does so through natural processes which restore the land for cultivating crops. The fallow provides various non-timber forest products (NTFPs), which are important to rural livelihoods (Douangsavanh et al. 2006). It can be used for many other purposes such as fishing, hunting, and grazing cattle and water buffalo. This system is sustainable when the fallow period is long enough to recover the plant biomass and soil fertility (Fujisaka 1991).

A few decades ago, the traditional fallow period was around 10–15 years; however, in 1996, in addition to restricting the use of forests, the “Forest Law” in Laos divided forest land into five classifications: Protection Forest, Conservation Forest, Regeneration Forest, Production Forest, and Degraded Forest. Consequently, conflicts between village communities occurred. Additionally, upland rice cultivation areas have been expanding with a growing population. These factors have shortened the fallow period, and affected the lifestyle of local people who depend on swidden agriculture and NTFPs.

The Lao Government aims to advance the country beyond Least Among Less Developed Country status as United Nation defined, and economic growth of northern mountainous areas where residents undertake self-sufficiency practices is important. However, livelihood quality in mountainous areas has been estimated only from the perspective of upland rice production. However, other activities in mountainous areas include gathering NTFPs, hunting, and animal husbandry. Therefore, estimating the whole agro-ecological system is important to providing a comprehensive understanding of sustainable development in mountainous areas.

Plant utilization is the most important activity for villagers in mountainous areas (Yamada et al. 2004). The objective of this study was to clarify the level of plant utilization and distribution in fallow forests, and to demonstrate how villagers maintain a sustainable livelihood under the pressures of population growth including through implementation of land use policy.

2 Study Site

2.1 Kachet Village

Kachet village is located in a mountainous area in the northwest of the Nam Bak district, Luang Phabang province, northern Laos. The altitude of the village ranges from 400–900 m above sea level, and most of the area is sloping land. The residential area of the village is located at 20°34′N, 102°18′E. We determined the boundary and calculated the village area using geographic information system (GIS) data and information from interviews of villagers in the field (Fig. 6.1). The village area was about 1,890 ha. People in Kachet village belong to the Khmu ethnic group, who practice swidden agriculture (Chazee 1999). In 2011, there were 98 households and 486 people (258 females; 228 males) in Kachet village, all of whom were swiddenners.

Fig. 6.1
figure 1

Locations of the village boundary, road, and streams. The village boundary was determined by interviewing the villagers, geographic information system (GIS) data around the village, and interviews in the field. The aqua, purple, and green lines denote the village boundary, road, and streams, respectively

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The Ou River and many streams (e.g., Nam Mong, Nam Chet, and Nam Kating) run through Kachet village; since 2009, some villagers have reclaimed and begun cultivating paddy rice in some areas. Most of the cultivated varieties are upland rice. In 2011, though the area of upland rice was 46.10 ha, production was still not enough to sustain the village population. Average consumption was about 130 kg of polished rice per head per year (District Agricultural and Forestry Office of Nam Bak District 2011). The interviews we conducted suggested that households in Kachet village generally suffer from a shortage of rice for about 3 months each year. During food shortages, the villagers needed to gather NTFPs for sale and self-consumption, and earn money by various other activities.

The residents in Kachet village accessed the local Pak Mong market by public service bus or a village truck; the village is located on 13 Road (National Road), which goes from Luang Phabang to the border of China. The distance from the village to Pak Mong market is around 22 km. In this village, selling NTFPs is an important way to earn money. Benzoin production is one of the main sources of cash income for residents in Kachet village; the village has a large area of benzoin-producing trees, which have been managed by the farmers for a long time. Only two districts in Luang Phabang province, Nam Bak and Ngoy districts, are suitable for growing Stylax trees (Stylax tonkinensis), from which benzoin is derived (Kashio and Johnson 2001).

2.2 Swidden Agriculture in Kachet Village

In northern Laos, most of the upland farmers practice swidden agriculture and cultivate upland rice for self-consumption. In Kachet village, farmers first slash the forests from January to February, burn the forests in April, and then seed upland rice in the swidden fields in May. Mostly cultivated are yam, taro, cassava, sweet potato, cucumber, melon, gourd, Job’s tears, tobacco, pumpkins, chili pepper, eggplant, corn, and/or sesame with upland rice. After seeding, the farmers weed two or three times until harvesting, or as required. From September to October, they harvest the crops, and after harvesting the fields are abandoned.

3 Plant Utilization

Most scientists describe use of a fallow is mainly understood in the context of resting the land. During a fallow period, the land is abandoned to improve soil fertility and/or disrupt pests and diseases (Ruthenberg 1971). For farmers, fallow land is also important as a place for providing various kinds of timber and NTFPs. These products sustain livelihoods by providing food, fodder, firewood, and cash income.

In this section, we first discuss the importance of a fallow period for upland rice production. Then, we focus on NTFPs with economic benefits, and argue that their benefits are related to the fallow period. We also report on investigations of the other NTFPs used by farmers in Kachet village, using vegetation surveys in each fallow year to emphasize the importance of a long fallow period.

3.1 Fallow Period and Upland Rice Production

The interviews from six families revealed that upland rice yield is considerably different among fallow years. Rice yields from older forest fallows were much higher than those from fields with young secondary growth or from fields that had been cultivated for several years. Rice production in Kachet village ranged from 1 to 1.8 t ha−1 for a 6-year fallow period, and average rice production was around 1.3 t ha−1. The farmers said that if they cultivated upland rice in the same fields, there was a 40–50 % decrease in rice yield in the second year compared with the first year; this is because cultivation in the same fields for 2 years resulted in flourishing of weeds. This phenomenon can also be observed in other crops such as corn and Job’s tears.

3.2 Fallow Period and NTFPs with Economic Value

There are hundreds of kinds of NTFPs species in Kachet village, too many to describe all of them. Therefore, we focus on six important NTFPs with commercial value (Table 6.1).

Table 6.1 Khmu and English names of NTFPs with economic value in 2011, and the fallow period and harvest time for these NTFPs. Black shades in the right row indicate the harvest time
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3.2.1 Benzoin (Styrax tonkinensis)

In 2007, the price of benzoin decreased and benzoin production became less attractive for farmers. Consequently, the Kachet people stopped tapping benzoin. However, after the price increased to around 60,000–70,000 kip kg−1 in 2010, they began tapping benzoin again. Since then, benzoin production is one of the most important sources of farmers’ income. Styrax trees are tapped from September to October.

In 2011, the area of Styrax tree plantations was 100 ha, and the price of benzoin was 70,000 kip kg−1 (Table 6.1). Styrax resin is harvested in fallows more than 5 years old (Table 6.1). In 2011, the average yield of benzoin that could be harvested from a 6 or 7 year-old fallow was around 30–40 kg ha−1 year−1, and residents could earn around 2.1–2.8 million kip ha−1 year−1. In contrast, in the older fallows, residents could tap more resin from tree densities of around 250–300 ha−1. Therefore, the average yield of benzoin from an 8 to 10 year-old fallow was relatively high at around 70–100 kg, and residents could earn around 5–7 million kip ha−1 year−1.

Styrax trees are found only in the Bak and Ngoy districts of Luang Phabang province. They grow in the swidden fields. The farmers in these districts first slash and burn a field for upland rice cultivation, and after harvesting the rice they leave the Styrax trees and other vegetation. In most cases, villagers avoid weeding Styrax trees so that the trees can grow faster. Styrax trees require a fallow period of at least 5 or 6 years to start producing benzoin (Kashio and Johnson 2001). Benzoin production was integrated into the traditional practice of swidden agriculture by Kachet people many years ago. Originally, the fallow period was around 10–15 years, and the farmers could harvest benzoin. However, in 1996, the land of Kachet village was allocated by the district authority, and the farmers were in danger of having to quit benzoin production. Therefore, they changed their fallow management, and succeeded in maintaining benzoin production. We describe these management practices in detail in Sect. 3.1.

3.2.2 Cardamom (Amomum villosum)

Cardamom is an important cash product. It can be harvested from July to early October. However, 5 years ago, the residents of Kachet village over-harvested the cardamom each day from July to October, which resulted in no cardamom fruit in the next season. The village committee then decided to harvest cardamom seeds only in July; the residents could gather cardamom fruits after the village head announced the day of harvest. The average yield of cardamom is 4–6 kg of dry seeds person−1 year−1. Cardamom is harvested in fallows more than 6 years old (Table 6.1), and in 2011 it had a price of 60,000 kip kg−1 (Table 6.1).

3.2.3 Konjak (Amorphophallus spp.)

Konjak has potential as a new source of cash income. It is used in Chinese food, and in 2007, as trade with China grew in importance, export of Konjak to China began. The price of Konjak in 2011 was 25,000 kip kg−1 (Table 6.1). Konjak can be harvested in fallows more than 4 years old (Table 6.1). The tuber can be harvested throughout the year, though the Chinese traders buy the tubers only in January.

3.2.4 Galangal fruit and root (Alpinia galanga)

Galangal fruit and root are used as herbs. The fruits are mainly collected and sold to Chinese traders. The root and shoot is consumed by the local people. Galangal can be harvested from the end of July to the beginning of October. Galangal are planted with upland rice. Additionally, it grows naturally and can be harvested in fallows more than 4 years old (Table 6.1). The average local price in 2011 was 5,000 kip kg−1 (Table 6.1).

3.2.5 Broom grass (Thysanolaena latifolia)

The price of broom grass in 2011 was 3,500 kip kg−1 (Table 6.1). Broom grass can be harvested in 1–4 year-old fallows, though it is not found in fallows more than 4 years old because of canopy cover from the regenerating trees in the fallow forests (Table 6.1). Broom grass is usually harvested from February to April. Flowering stems need to be harvested within a month before they become too old. One farmer can collect 10 kg day−1 of broom grass twice a week. Broom grass has become an increasingly important source of cash income in recent years, and villagers have increasingly started planting it. As of 2010, there were 5.7 ha of broom grass plantation in Kachet village.

3.2.6 Bamboo shoot (Indosasa sinica, Dendrocalamus spp., Phyllostachys spp.)

Bamboos are the most important plant material in Kachet village and one of the most important sources of cash income from NTFPs. It is consumed in Kachet village and throughout Laos. No khom (Indosasa sinica) is a popular food in the towns, and fetches a higher price than other species during the beginning of the season. The farmers harvest the bamboo shoots in February. No khom is harvested in fallows more than 2 years old (Table 6.1). The price of No khom in 2011 was 5,000 kip kg−1 (Table 6.1); the price of the other species was 500 kip kg−1

The farmers in Kachet village usually harvest five species of bamboo: No khom, No van (Dendrocalamus sp.), No lan (Phyllostachys sp.), No kud (unidentified), and No hok (Dendrocalamus sp.). They produce shoots in different seasons. No khom is harvested in February, No van, No lun, and No kud are harvested from May to July, and No hok is harvested from the beginning of July to the end of August.

The farmers can easily sell their harvest because a Lao trader who is a representative of a Chinese bamboo drying factory located in Pak mong village, Nam Bak district, comes to buy bamboo shoots every day during the harvest period.

3.3 Fallow Period and Forest Products

In addition to those NTFPs described above, the farmers of Kachet village use other NTFPs to make a living. To clarify the spatial distribution of these NTFPs, we investigated their use and the fallow period. On 2–5 August 2011, we placed two quadrats (10 × 10 m) in each of the 2, 3, 7 and 8 year-old fallows and 1 quadrat in each of 1 and 6 year-old fallows. We called the quadrats placed in the 1, 2 and 3 year-old fallows short fallow year quadrats, and those placed in the 6, 7 and 8 year-old fallows long year quadrats. We collected the leaves and branches of all plant species from these quadrats, and asked local residents whether each plant species was useful. For those that were useful, we recorded the plant name in Lao and/or Khmu as well as its use, the useful part of the plant, and the harvest season.

We found that 120 plant species were utilized by the farmers in Kachet village (Table 6.2). The numbers of species observed in the short fallow year quadrats were less than those observed in the long fallow year quadrats (Fig. 6.2). The average number of species in the short and long fallow year quadrats was 18 and 34, respectively. Both quadrats from each of the 2, 3, 7 and 8 year-old fallows had 8, 6, 9 and 7 species in common, respectively. The uses of each plant species were divided into three categories, and 20 subcategories (Table 6.2). The numbers of species in the edible and medicine use subcategories increased with increasing fallow years.

Table 6.2 Number of species in overall categories and use subcategories, as observed in each fallow year
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Fig. 6.2
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Number of species observed in each of the fallow year quadrats. Some overlap was observed among quadrats from the same fallow year. These data were the results of a vegetation survey

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The numbers of subcategories of plant species from the short fallow year quadrats were less than those from the long fallow year quadrats; they had averages of 5 and 9, respectively (Fig. 6.3). Band use was the most frequently observed subcategory in the tool use category (Table 6.2). Trap use and wood fuel use were the second most frequently observed subcategories in the tool use category. Edible use was the most frequently observed subcategory in the food and feed use category. Medical use was the second most frequently observed subcategory in the food and feed category. Posts for use in building was the most frequently observed subcategory in the building use category.

Fig. 6.3
figure 3

Number of subcategories observed in each of the fallow year quadrats. These data were the results of a vegetation survey

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Yokoyama (2004) identified the NTFPs with economic value: mak neng (Amomum villosum), nyan (Styrax tonkinensis), peuak muack (Boehmeria sp.), po sa (Broussonetia papyrifera), wai (Calamus spp.), kha (Alpinia galanga) and khem (Thysanolaena latifolia) in Ngoy district, which is adjacent to Nam Bak district. Our research has identified the important food crops: gre (ginger, Alpinia sp.), no khom, and no lan, and we did not identify peuak muack or po sa (Table 6.3). Most of the other important NTFPs were observed, though only in the long fallow year quadrats. Mak neng was observed in the 6, 7 and 8 fallow years quadrats. Styrax trees were observed in the 1, 7 and 8 fallow years quadrats. Mak wai was observed in the 8 fallow years quadrats, and Mak kha was observed in the 6 fallow years quadrats. Khem was observed in the 6 and 8 fallow years quadrats, and Gre observed in the 6 and 7 fallow years quadrats. No khom was observed in the 7 fallow years quadrats, and no lan was observed in the 6 fallow years quadrat.

Table 6.3 Observed NTFPs with economic value in each fallow year, as identified in this study and by Yokoyama (2004). These data were the results of a vegetation survey. Black shades in the right row indicate the fallow year in which each NTFP was observed
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The numbers of species and numbers of subcategories observed in the short fallow years quadrats were less than those observed in the long fallow years quadrats (Figs. 6.2 and 6.3). Moreover, most of the NTFPs with economic value were observed only in the long fallow year quadrats of the vegetation survey (Table 6.3). Yokoyama (2004) showed by field surveys that villagers gathered most of the NTFPs with economic value from fallow swiddens that were more than 6 years old. These observations indicate that villagers receive more benefits from NTFPs over longer fallow periods.

The numbers of species in the edible and medicine use subcategories were higher than those in the other subcategories; species in the trap use subcategory were the second most frequently observed in the tool use category (Table 6.2). Additionally, the important foods from NTFPs were observed only in long fallow years quadrats (Table 6.3). From these results, villagers are likely to be highly dependent on foodstuffs from slash and burn forest. Delang (2006) reported that wild food plants remained a preferred alternative to commercial food crops because gathering wild food plants is a more efficient use of time than engaging in the market economy. Shackleton and Shackleton (2006) revealed that poor households used more resources per capita for four NTFPs (fuel wood, wild fruits, edible herbs, and grass hand brushes) than did other wealth classes. Additionally, a significantly higher gross annual direct-use value was evident within poorer households for fuel wood and edible herbs (Shackleton and Shackleton 2006). In this study, the numbers of species in the edible and medicine use subcategories dramatically increased as the fallow periods became longer (Table 6.2). This suggests that longer fallow periods contribute to food security in Kachet village.

We found 120 useful species for villagers (Table 6.2). Delang (2006) discussed the villagers’ vast traditional knowledge of edible and medicinal plants, which would be lost to future generations if the villagers stopped gathering these plants from the forests. In southern Laos, domestication of cardamom, ‘si siet’ bark, broom grass, rattans, and bamboo has been reported (Foppes and Ketphanh 2000). Most of the useful species identified were not yet domesticated by villagers in Kachet village. Therefore, these plants might be a potential source for domestication in fallow fields in Kachet village. Belcher et al. (2005) reported that cultivation of these plants tended to provide a higher income compared with other local crops, and higher returns per unit of land compared with non-cultivated NTFP production.

Our results indicate that villagers in Kachet village would receive more benefits from NTFPs as the fallow period becomes longer, and the results provide useful knowledge for future generations in Kachet village.

4 Fallow Management

Fallow period and area are important factors when trying to understand the swidden system, and when identifying possible alternatives. In northern Laos, many swidden villages have faced a decrease in the fallow period of 3–5 years, which is associated with a decline in soil fertility, weed infestations, forest destruction, and loss of biodiversity. Thus, fallow management plays an important role in sustaining production of upland rice and NTFPs.

In this section, we describe the current status of land use management for the swidden system in Kachet village. First, we provide information on the current status of fallows in the swidden system by interviewing villagers. Then, we confirm the period and area of fallows by analyzing satellite images.

4.1 Historical Changes in the Period of Fallow and the Rotation Cycle

A few decades ago, farmers who conducted swidden agriculture used to keep the land fallow for 20–30 years. A single plot was used for up to 5 or more years until the soil fertility declined, or weeds grew too much to cultivate crops and the farmers had to move to other plots. At that time, the farmers were not controlled by forest policy, and the village population was low; residents were living too far from the road and lacked communication with other communities.

Before 1996, the fallow period in Kachet village depended on the number of plots of land owned by each household. For example, if a household owned eight plots of land, the fallow period for swidden agriculture was 8 years (Fig. 6.4). At that time, a fallow period was usually 8–15 years for each household, depending on the number of plots. However, in 1996, the land area of Kachet village was allocated by the district authority, except for the land that had been traditionally used and cultivated. Half of the total land where farmers conducted swidden agriculture for self-consumption was allocated to a forest area: Protection Forest, Conservation Forest, Regeneration Forest, Production Forest and Degraded Forest (Fig. 6.5). As a result, villagers were forced to change the fallow period.

Fig. 6.4
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Land use management before 1996. At that time, the land was not controlled by forest policy and the population was low in the village; hence, the fallow period depended on the number of plots of land owned by each household. The blue circles denote an example of land use management

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Fig. 6.5
figure 5

Land use management from 2003 to the present. The green area denotes the forest area, as allocated by the district authority as either protection forest, conservation forest, regeneration forest, production forest or degraded forest in 1996. The circles from A–E indicate six zones, as allocated for Kachet village in 2003. Using these six zones, swidden agriculture was conducted by the whole village, rather than by each household

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In 1997–2002, while some households had many plots and were less affected by the government program and kept a fallow period of 6–7 years, others needed to change their fallow period to less than 4 years. Fallow periods of only 3 or 4 years of are insufficient for recovery of forest vegetation or NTFPs; therefore, in 2003, this problem was solved by undertaking two management practices. First, they selected and divided swidden agriculture areas into six zones (Fig. 6.5). Second, swidden agriculture was conducted by the whole village rather than by each household individually. Now all households can conduct swidden agriculture and implement a fallow period of 6 or 7 years by exchanging their land to match the local system.

4.2 Fallow Area

To confirm the results of the interviews, we checked the six zones by analyzing satellite images. We used Landsat-ETM+satellite images (ID is Row46/Path129) over 12 years to investigate land use in the Kachet village. Landsat 7 equipped with a sensor was launched on 15 April 1999. The list of data used in this study is shown in Table 6.4. We were unable to obtain the information for 2011 because there were no data for sunny days.

Table 6.4 Date of Landsat-ETM+imaging from 1999 to 2011
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We extracted the swidden area in the village from the true color image of Landsat-ETM+. The extraction was carried out using the following steps. First, we compared the images of a given year with those of the previous year. If there were bare areas in the images where a bare area did not exist in the same region in previous images, we depicted the area as cultivated regions using polygons. Then we compared the images with those of the subsequent year. If there were bare areas in the subsequent images in the same regions, then the polygons were eliminated because these areas might have been used for other purposes than crop cultivation. These areas were quite small (less than 10 ha).

Figure 6.6 shows images of the extractions of the swidden areas. Figure 6.6a, b are the data for 21 November 2001 and 8 November 2002, respectively. The polygons in Fig. 6.6b were the bare areas, while the regions in Fig. 6.6a were covered by forests. Using this method, we estimated the swidden area from 2000 to 2010. Ground-truthing was carried out using Global Positioning System (GPS) data, photos, and interviews in the field.

Fig. 6.6
figure 6

Extraction procedure for the swidden area. Images (a) and (b) show before and after harvest, respectively. Images (a) and (b) were taken on 21 November 2001 and 8 November 2002, respectively. The orange polygons in Fig. 6.6b are bare areas

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Figure 6.7 shows the distribution of cultivated regions from 2000 to 2010. There was a road along the center of the village (purple line). To the north of the road, the village had four large areas used for the swidden agriculture. There were three huge areas of swidden agriculture to the south side, and small areas to the southeast side. Swidden agriculture has not been carried out in the forest around the village because it is categorized as protection forest to avoid fire. However, we found that most of the region had been used for swidden agriculture.

Fig. 6.7
figure 7

Distribution of harvested areas from 1999 to 2010. Each letter denotes the zone and letters used in Fig. 6.5

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Next, we calculated the swidden area from the polygons for each year. The average area from 2000 to 2010 was 160 ± 11 ha year−1 (Fig. 6.8). If the swidden cycle is assumed to be 7 years, then the village would need seven units of land, and must allocate 1,120 ha for swidden agriculture (i.e. 160 ha × 7 year). The area of swidden agriculture was about 750 ha because the village area was about 1,890 ha. Moreover, if forest that has not been used for more than 10 years is categorized as conservation forest, then that forest area would be about 200–300 ha. Therefore, if swidden agriculture is carried out using the same cultivation area as in the past, then an area of about 400–500 ha would be available and can be used for other purposes such as cash crop cultivation.

Fig. 6.8
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Swidden area calculated from the pixels of the images in Fig. 6.7 from 2000 to 2010

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4.3 Swidden Cycle

From the swidden area information, we estimated the swidden cycle. We defined the swidden cycle as the period from the first slashing and burning of forest to the next slashing and burning of forest in the same area. For example, if swidden agriculture was carried out in one area and then that area was left fallow for 6 years, then the swidden cycle would be 7. Figure 6.9 shows the swidden cycle for Kachet village from 2006. The cycle for 2011 was estimated from interviews and GPS data. Over 20 years, the average swidden cycle in Kachet village was about 7 years. Inoue et al. (2010) showed that more than 90 % of the swidden areas in northern Laos were fallow for less than 2 years from 1993 to 2005. Therefore, the results of our study indicate that the swidden cycle in Kachet village was longer than in other regions.

Fig. 6.9
figure 9

Swidden cycle in Kachet village from 2006 to 2011. The swidden cycle was determined from the swidden area in Fig. 6.8. We defined the swidden cycle as the period from the first slashing and burning of forest to the subsequent slashing and burning in the same area

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5 Discussion

Government policy and population pressure have influenced the lifestyle of local people who depend on swidden agriculture and NTFPs. We lacked detailed information on changes in plant utilization and land use management for swidden agriculture; therefore, we investigated the plant utilization and land use management of swidden agriculture using interviews, a vegetation survey, and by analyzing satellite images.

The interview questions and vegetation surveys revealed that most of the NTFPs with economic value were observed in long fallow year quadrats (Figs. 6.2 and 6.3, Tables 6.2 and 6.3). The numbers of species and use subcategories observed in the short fallow year quadrats were less than those observed in the long fallow year quadrats. These results indicate that villagers receive more economic benefits from NTFPs in forests that were fallow for longer periods.

Additionally, because they had fewer weeds, rice yields from older forest fallows were higher than those from fields having young secondary growth. The numbers of species in the edible and medicine use subcategories were higher than those in the other subcategories; trap use was the second frequently observed subcategory in the tool use category. Moreover, the important foods from NTFPs were observed mostly in long fallow year quadrats. Therefore, longer fallow periods should contribute to food security in Kachet village.

Longer fallow periods have contributed to the livelihood of residents in Kachet village for a long time. However, in 1996, the land area of Kachet village was allocated by the district authority, which threatened traditional management of swidden agriculture. In 2003, two activities were deployed to avoid shortening of the fallow period. First, villagers selected and divided swidden agriculture areas into six zones. Within the six zones, the villagers exchanged fields for swidden agriculture, and managed to retain a relatively long fallow period. Second, swidden agriculture was conducted by the whole village, rather than by each household individually. As a result, all households could conduct swidden agriculture, and keep a fallow period of 6 or 7 years. We confirmed these activities by analyzing satellite images. From these results, we conclude that the villagers of Kachet village changed their fallow management and succeeded in maintaining a suitable fallow period to produce NTFPs.

Recently, market economy has infiltrated to mountain villages and some villagers start to select commercial crops in swidden fields. However, villagers also have conducted sustainable land use to match the situation. Keeping the land use management and plant utilization in the fallows is important for sustainable development of this area.