Using Geographic Information Systems to assess possibilities of expanding traditional agroforestry in slash-and-burn zones in Madagascar

Beforona is a mountainous region in eastern Madagascar, where slash-and-burn cultivation (tavy) has been practiced for several generations to produce rice, the staple food of the Malagasy people. This system of cultivation has long been unsustainable (deforestation, erosion, loss of soil fertility, etc). Other types of cultivation considered more sustainable were inventoried in a study, particularly the irrigated rice field and traditional agroforestry system known as tanimboly found in the valleys. On the basis of research results, data were incorporated into a Geographic..