Deforestation is the destruction of forest or forested areas  by human or natural means. Some notable human-based causes are slash and burn agriculture and production of forest products (i.e logging). Desertification can also lead to deforestation. 

Solar energy production is not directly linked to deforestation, and is in fact a form of sustainable, renewable energy.

The term “swidden” is used to describe land that has been cleared for agricultural use using slash-and-burn techniques. By “slash-and-burn” we mean that the land has cleared through burning of existing plants and is then used for agricultural purposes by the local community for a few years before they move on to “slash-and-burn” another piece of land.

“Slash-and-burn” agriculture involves burning a portion of forest so that the soil there can be used for agricultural purposes. The community then uses this land for a short time, possibly a few years, and then moves on to a new area, which is, in turn, burned for agricultural use. This practice of agriculture is defined by a constant process of moving from one plot of land to another and is known as “shifting cultivation.”

Wetlands provide many services.  They filter water to make it cleaner, they absorb water from storms and decrease the probability of flooding in the surrounding area. They also tend to give a home to many different organisms. Destruction of wetlands impedes all of these services. Therefore, the correct answer must be  "increased resistance to storms and flooding." 

The primary advantage of “slash-and-burn” agriculture is that it allows for somewhat sustainable farming in relatively small tropical societies. The soil in many tropical climates is relatively weak in nutrients and so must be constantly recycled. Through a controlled system of “slash-and-burn” agriculture tropical soil is given enough time to recover and tropical vegetation is allowed the opportunity to regrow.

“Sharecropping” refers to a system of agriculture whereby a landowner allows an individual or a family to rent a portion of land in exchange for a share of the crops they harvest. “Serfdom” and “plantation” may seem like correct choices; however, “serfdom” refers to the status of many peasants under feudalistic rules that were considered to be part of the land that they farmed. “Plantation” refers to a large piece of land used to commercially produce a single crop.

A “polder” is a piece of farmland that has been reclaimed from water. They are usually from flooded plains, marshes, or—more recently—the sea. This is important for sustaining agricultural growth in regions of the world that are low-lying and easily flooded.

A “feedlot” is a place where a large quantity of livestock is raised in extremely cramped and inhumane, but cost effective, conditions. The factory farms where chickens are often produced in the United States are examples of “feedlots.”

“Crop rotation” is a system developed during the Second Agricultural Revolution in order to preserve the mineral health of soil used in agriculture and prevents patches of land from being exhausted. The idea is that by growing different crops, in the same soil, in the different seasons the soil can be preserved for a much longer period of time than it otherwise might be. The reasons for this are numerous and complicated, but the simplest explanation is that different crops drain the soil of different minerals and, additionally, replenish the soil with different nutrients.

“Spring wheat” is an extremely important collection of crops that provides a great deal of the nutrition that is consumed by the planet. “Spring wheat” is planted in early spring and usually harvested in the late summer. In the United States “spring wheat” is generally harvested between mid-August and late-September.