Best to change the environment slowly, a small piece at a time

It is generally foolish to change large areas of the environment in a hurry, better to do it slowly, a small piece at a time, unless we wish to shock the remaining plants and animals and cause soil erosion and land degradation.

In other words, large scale slash and burn agriculture or forestry is a very bad idea, if we are interested in the health of the environment, rather than maximizing our short-term profit at the expense of every other form of life.