Section: World Geography

16) Farmers in Southeast Asia have adapted mountainous areas for agricultural use by: 

1. building levees
2. constructing terraces
3. developing contour cultivation
4. practicing crop rotation

In agriculture, a terrace is a piece of sloped plane that has been cut into a series of successively receding flat surfaces or platforms, which resemble steps, for the purposes of more effective farming. This type of landscaping, therefore, is called terracing. Graduated terrace steps are commonly used to farm on hilly or mountainous terrain. Terraced fields both decrease erosion, and may be used to support growing crops that require irrigation, such as rice.