Biophysical Characteristics of Tropical Peatland
2007
Based on Jenny’s equation (1941) of soil forming factors i.e. S = f(C, R, B, P, T)
with the five soil forming factors, the biotic (B) factor of soil formation is the most
multifaceted among them. The biotic factor can be grouped into vegetation, microorganisms,
animals and human activities. Vegetation is considered to be the most
important facet of the biotic factor. Efforts to explain soil characteristics in terms of the
influence of biota are best facilitated by biosequence studies. These studies contain a
series of soil profiles across which the biotic soil forming factor varies while other soil
forming factors remain constant. Within the context of a biosequence, the effect of
changing biotic factor upon any soil property can be assessed quantitatively. For
tropical peat, vegetation is both a biotic and parent material for soil forming factors.
The elemental composition of soil differs from that of geologic materials in its
striking enrichment of carbon and nitrogen compounds relative to most rocks. The
organic compounds of the plants are the ultimate sources of this C and N. Plants
contribute organic compounds to the soil in a variety of ways, including the senescence
or necrosis of tissue, exudation or respiration from the roots, and the liberation of
reproductive tissues such as pollen, seeds and fruits. Thus plants that live on the soil
both influence soil properties and are influenced by soil properties. And these have been
observed on the tropical peat of Sarawak whereby there is an existence of biosequence
in each peat basin i.e. different forest types on a peat basin means different soil
characteristics caused by different biophysical characteristics of the peat. This
biosequence in the peat swamps of Peninsular Malaysia is less highly developed than
those in Sarawak (Anderson, 1964). Therefore the objective of this paper is to describe
the physical characteristics of the peat in relation to the forest types and its implication to
agriculture development especially oil palm cultivation on tropical peat.
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