Trends, drivers and impacts of changes in swidden cultivation in tropical forest-agriculture frontiers: A global assessment

► This review identifies changes in swiddening world-wide over the last 10-15 years, explores the drivers of observed changes, and discusses how patterns of changes impact rural livelihoods and the environment. ► Despite the global trend towards land use intensification, swidden remains a safety component of diversified systems, particularly in response to risks and uncertainties associated with more intensive land use systems. ► Intensification in former swidden landscapes has generally increased household incomes, but has not translated into land sparing as it tends to be associated with agricultural expansion and deforestation.