What is shifting cultivation? What are its disadvantages?

Shifting cultivation is generally practiced in the thickly forested areas. These are the areas of heavy rainfall and quick regeneration of vegetation. A plot of land is cleared by cutting the trees and burning them. The ashes are then mixed with the soil. After the soil loses its fertility, the land is abandoned and the cultivator moves to a new plot.

The major disadvantage of Shifting Cultivation is that many trees in the forest are cut and this increases soil infertility and leads to soil erosion.