Irreversible ecosystem change, species competition, and shifting cultivation

This paper explores the impact of resource use on species competition and the resulting effect on the regeneration of a renewable resource. In the case of shifting cultivation, agricultural activities alter the subsequent recovery of biomass during fallow upon which agricultural fertility depends. This paper introduces a model of agricultureʹs impact on species competition and discontinuous ecological change, identifies conditions under which it is economically efficient to induce an ecological irreversibility, and compares these cases for farmers with and without land tenure security.