ABSTRACT
The natural vegetation in the southwest of Sarawak is tropical rainforest. As in most rainforest areas, the soils are poor and infertile. Humus is found only in the topsoil. Permanent use of these chemically poor soils remains an unsolved problem, but shifting cultivation systems have developed with short cropping periods of one to two years and long fallow periods of 15 to 20 years. The fallow period restores soil fertility and its vegetation provides farming households with a variety of products, including food, firewood, and construction materials. Other useful products are harvested from the primary rainforest surrounding villages and swidden fields.
