The peat genesis in the lowlands of Central Kalimantan Province :...

transcript

. . THE PEAT G E N E S I S I N THE LOWLANDS O F CENTRAL KALIMANTAN P R O V I N C E .

THE R E S P E C T I V E INFLUENCE O F P O D Z O L I S A T I O N AND BAD DRAINAGE,

THE TWO MAIN PROCESSES'OF P E A T G E N E S I S I N KALIMANTAN.

G . . S I E F F E R M A " * , S. TRIUTOMO**, M.T. SADELMAN***, A. K R I S T I J O N O * *

S . A .

PARHADIMULYO**. . .

ORSTOM - G A D J A ~ I MADA UNIVERSITY programme of coopera t ion ,

S e k i p K 3 , Yogyakarta, DIY:

A g e n c y for t h e A s s e s s m e n t a n d A p p l i c a t i o n o f . Technology,

(BPP T e k n o l o g i ) J1. MH. Thamrin 8 , L t . 18, Jakarta.

BAPPEDA, J1. D i p o n e g o r o 6 0 , P a l a n g k a - R a , y a , ,KALTEN&.

A B S T R A C T

T h i s s t u d y conce ' rns n u m e r o u s peat p r o f i l e s of CENTRAL K A L I -

MANTAN P R O V I N C E , . l o c a t e d n o r t h and s o u t h of PALANGKA-RAYA, main-

l y b e t w e e n KATINGAN a n d KAHAYAN ' r ivers , along 2he SEBANGAU val- b

l e y . % .

A f t e r a s h o r t p r e s e n t a t i o n of the g e o m o r p h o l o g i c , c l i m a t i c

a n d geologic charac te r i s t ics of t h e r e g i o n , t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n

of t h e peat i s s tud ied .

I n t h e upper p a r t o f - t h e SEBANGAU va l ley , n o r t h a n d s o u t h '

of PALANGKA-RAYA, t h e peat i s ve ry o f t e n more t h a n 4 meters

t h i c k , even i n t h e h i g h e s t topographic p o s i t i o n s , and f r e q u e n t l y

associated w i t h t r o p i c a l p o d z c l s .

I n t h e cen t r a l and coas ta l p a r t of t h e SEBANGAU v a l l e y t h e

t h i c k n e s s of t h e peat u s u a l l y does n o t exceed 1 m e t e r .

The peat a c c u m u l a t i o n has b e e n i n t e r p r e t e d by t h e a u t h o r s

ORS7'0ii:1 Funas Documentaire

% i ! * 2

\ * (4 .

a s a . r e s u l t of two d i f f e r e n t p rocesses :

- I n t h e upper p a r t of t h e SEBANGAU v a l l e y and nea r PALANGKA-

RAYA, t h e p e a t accumulat ion seems t o be t h e consequence of

an extreme base d e s a t u r a t i o n of Al hor izons of podzols which

has led t o a dec rease of t h e m i c r o b i o l o g i c a l a c t i v i t y and con-

s e q u e n t l y t o t h e accumulat ion of t h e non-decomposed o r g a n i c

ma t t e r s .

The p o d z o l i s a t i o n appea r s , l n t h i s ca se , as a p rev ious -

and necessa ry process f o r t h e p e a t accumulat ion and g i v e s

an i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t h e podzol hor izons under ly ing t h e p e a t .

- I n t h e c e n t r a l and c o a s t a l p a r t of t h e SEBANGAU v a l l e y , t h e

o r g a n i c m a t t e r accumulat ion can be r e l a t e d w i t h t h e bad d r a i -

nage of c l a y e y and f l a t low-lands n e a r t h e s e a l e v e l . The

s m a l l t h i c k n e s s of t h e p e a t could be t h e consequence of a

h i g h e r m i c r o b i o l o g i c a l decomposi t ion a c t i v i t y r e l a t e d t o

a h i g h e r base s a t u r a t i o n of th'e subs t ra tum. * \

I n bo th cases, t h e mecanism once i n i t i a t e d , under f o r e s t '

cover , cou ld o n l y con t inue t h e bad d r a i n a g e c o n d i t i o n s and t h e

accumula t ion .of o r g a n i c ' m a t t e r s .

c . . . - . ,. . ,. .*

Many areas of t h

' INTRODUCTION

C e n t r a l Kalimantan P r v i n r

are cover

w i t h t r o p i c a l podzols and p e a t . Th'e p e a t c a n be found i n p o o r l y

d ra ined p o s i t i o n s as w e l l as i n t h e h i g h e s t s u b h o r i z o n t a l topo-

g r a p h i c a l s i t u a t i o n s . The podzols and p e a t were s t u d i e d i n t h r e e

d i f f e r e n i environmental s i t u a t i o n s . Fig. 1: - and 2

. Zone 1 - On t h e PALANGKA-RAYA s u r f a c e , a . s u b h o r i z o n t a l , sandy

q u a t e r n a r y l e v e l .

Zone 2 - I n t h e p o o r l y d r a i n e d cen t r a l and upper SEBANGAU v a l l e y .

Zone 3 - In t h e t i d a l i n f luenced lower Sebangau v a l l e y . .

THE REGION

- . CLIMATE

The climate. is e q u a t o r i a l , w i t h a mean a n n u a l p r e c i p i t a t i o n

of about 2800' "/years. The p e r i o d from June t o September i s ..,

l o c a l l y c a l l e d " d r y season" ; i n f a c t it is o n l y a p e r i o d of

h i g h e r p r o b a b i l i t y of drought p e r i o d s . Drought p e r i o d s longe r

than a week can occur any month of t h e year . 1

Temperatures are remarkably s tab le throughout t h e year .

Average annual tempera ture is 28°C and the' d i f f e r e n c e between

t h e monthly average of t h e " c o l d e s t " and " h o t t e s t " month is

about 1OC. Highest and lowest d a i l y t empera tu res r e g i s t e r e d

are r e s p e c t i v e l y 36OC and 21OC. Dai ly v a r i a t i o n s are g r e a t e r

d u r i n g drought p e r i o d s and range from 6 t o 9OC.

Redlative- humidi ty remains h igh throughout t h e y e a r and

r a r e l y drops under 80%.

SITUATION MAP D

.... ..:

:. 5 ' I .

a.. .. . . ..

a . ..e.

. ... e .

I ".. : :.! .. . :: ..: . . i.:

:: * . . . .:

.. ...

Figure 1. Location map of the study area

THE R I V E R NETWORK

The r iver network i s shown i n F i g u r e 1. The KATINGAN and

KAHAYAN, are t h e main r ivers d r a i n i n g t h e area and n o u r i s h i n g

t h e c o a s t a l s ed imen ta t ion . D a t a concern ing t h e amount of sedi-

ments t r a n s p o r t e d by these two r i v e r s are n o t available. However

t h e a s p e c t of t h e water d u r i n g the r a i n y season i m p l i e s a subs- ’.

t a n t i a l s o l i d t r a n s p o r t . S t i l l , n e a r l y t h e t o t a l i t y of t h e s o l i d

t r a n s p o r t comes from areas o u t of f i g u r e 1, s i t u a t e d more n o r t h .

The s o l i d materials carried a long by these r ivers , from t h e i n -

land , are main ly q u a r t z g r a v e l s and sands , small f e l d s p a r s and

i l . l i tes , and k a o l i n i t i c clays mixed w i t h a l i t t l e amount of

i r o n hydroxydes. These sed iments a r e s p r e a d a l l o v e r t h e c o a s t a l

i n u n d a t i o n area by marine and t i d a l c u r r e n t s ’ i b u t w e have t o

mention t h a t t h e coastal sediments coming p a r t l y from t h e E a s t ,

from t h e KAPUAS and BARITO, c o n t a i n , i n a d d i t i o n t o the p receden t

m i n e r a l s , an impor t an t amount of I r o n c h l o r i t e , Montmor i l lon i te

I n t e r s t r a t i f i ed clays and I r o n Sulphurs .

The SEBANGAU w i t h ’ black waters , does n o t show any m i n e r a l

t r a n s p o r t - T h i s r iver i s no th ing more t h a n t h e o l d i n f e r i o r

KATINGAN v a l l e y , deserted by t h i s stream probab ly some 4000

y e a r s B.P. T h e consequence of t h i s change i s t h e e x c e p t i o n a l

w a t e r s t a g n a t i o n favorable f o r p e a t fo rma t ion i n what i s a c t u a l l y

t h e c e n t r a l and upper SEBANGAU v a l l e y , W e must a l s o mention t h a t

the SEBANGAU v a l l e y c o n t i n u e s with a submarine v a l l e y on more

t h a n 1 0 0 km under t h e Java sea, l i k e the Kahayan, B a r i t o and

Sampit. r ivers , o n l y t h e Kat ingan .does n o t show a similar sub-

marine p ro longa t ion .

_ _ _. ... I. ... . . . .~

3 2 4 Js 10 20 30Km

Figure 2. SOIL DISTRIBUTION

GEOLOGY

The l a r g e s t p a r t of f i g u r e 1 area c o n s i s t s of r e c e n t , most-

l y unconso l ida t ed , q u a t e r n a r y d e p o s i t s , showing sand l a y e r s ,

c l a y l e n s e s a n d levels of r o l l e d q u a r t z g r a v e l s . This sed imentary

material has been leveled t o a q u a t e r n a r y s u r f a c e by one o r seve-

s a l sea t r a n s g r e s s i o n s , some 5 0 . 0 0 0 y e a r s B . P . , b e f o r e t h e l a t e s t

g r e a t sea r e g r e s s i o n . .

This q u a t e r n a r y s u r f a c e of some 80 km l a r g e shows an Eas’t-

West e x t e n s i o n of n e a r l y 400 km. I n . h i s s o u t h e r n p a r t i t s a l t i -

t u d e i s s i t u a t e d between 35 and 65 meters and rises g e n t l y up

, in t h e North t o 150 meters o.s.1. a t t h e c o n t a c t w i t h t h e t e r t i -

ary b e l t . South-west of PALANGKA-RAYA t h e same s u r f a c e can b e

found i n several places on t h e SEBANGAU - KATINGAN watershed;

b u t t h i s s u r f a c e has never been observed s o u t h of BERENG-BENGKEL

on t h e SEBANGAU - KAHAYAN watershed.

A l l t h e r iver major v a l l e y s , SEBANGAU v a l l e y inc luded , form

a second more r e c e n t t opograph ic l e v e l , more o r less 1 5 meters

l o w e r t h a n t h e p receden t s u r f a c e .

Igneous acid rocks r a n g i n g from A l k a l i n e S y e n i t e s t o gra- ,

n i t e s form a 1 4 8 meters h i g h h i l l u n i t n e a r T A N G K I L I N G and t h e ..

153 meters h i g h ’ g u n u n g CINTA B E R A H I , on t h e s o u t h e r n p a r t of

t h e KATINGAN - SEBANGAU watershed.

S m a l l e r ou tc rops of s i m i l a r rocks can be found i n s i x ’ o t h e r

p l a c e s , E a s t of KASONGAN a n d South, and South-west of PALANGKA-

RAYA. Thus, t he , s u r f a c e of t h e s e r o c k s ou tc rops and t h e s o i l s

o v e r - l a y i n g them r e p r e s e n t less t h a n 1% of f i g u r e 1.

.- . _.. _- ._ ._... ._. - ..-.... .” . . , . .._-.. - . , . ~ -- .. . .. . . . . . . . - ,

THE S O I L S

ZONE 1 - TROPICAL PODZOLS AND PEAT S O I L S ON THE PZUANGKA-RAYA

Colmet-Daage (1953), Mohr and B a r e n (1954), Klinge (1958 , 1 9 6 7 i

QUATERNARY SURFACE.

This S o i l s a s s o c i a t i o n occur s on thousands of s q u a r e k i l o -

meters on what w e c a l l i n t h i s pape r Palangka-Raya q u a t e r n a r y

s u r f a c e . On t h i s topographic ' h igh level t h e e x t e r n a l drainage

i s poor , p a r t l y caused by t h e f l a t n e s s of t h e landscape, t h e

mean s l o p e ra te i s o n l y 1 f o r thousand. I n many p l a c e s t h e p re -

s e n c e of h a r d pans adds poor i n t e r n a l d r a i n a g e and fo rma t ion

of permanent water tables. During each r a i n y season , t h e most

f l a t p a r t s of t h i s s u r f a c e are permanent ly f l o o d e d by r a i n water

and t h i s induces peat accumulat ion even on t h e watershed l i n e .

T h i s p r o c e s s once s tar ted increases t h e water r e t e n t i o n and

t h e speed of t h e p e a t accumulat ion.

The most f r e q u e n t d i s t r i b u t i o n p a t t e r n of t h i s Podzol-Peat

a s s o c i a t i o n , on t h e Palangka-Raya s u r f a c e is r e p r e s e n t e d i n

f i g u r e no. 3 . T h e d i s t r i b u t i o n s r e p r e s e n t e d i n f i g u r e 3 can

be seen i n numerous p l a c e s on the Palangka-Raya s u r f a c e . T h e

normal, u n d i s t u r b e d v e g e t a t i o n on such s o i l c a t e n a i s the fo re s t .

THE PODZOLS

The t r o p i c a l PODZOLS c a n be morpho log ica l ly compared w i t h

t h o s e of temperate climates, t h e y show f r e q u e n t l y a similar suc-

c e s s i o n of ho r i zons : Ao, Al, A2, B h , BFe,

from t e m p e r a t e podzo l s t h rough t h e t h i c k n e s s of t h e i r ho r i zons .

and C ; but d i f f e r

Figure 3. CROSS - SECTIONS LOUTED IN Fig. 1. ( Verticd scale exagerated 1

1 9 6 9 ) , Day (1959) , V i e i r a and Oliveira ( 1 9 6 2 ) , A l t enmul l e r and

Kl inge ( 1 9 6 4 ) , Andriesse ( 1 9 6 9 , 1 9 7 0 ) , Turenne ( 1 9 7 0 ) , S ie f fe rmann

and Flexor ( 1 9 7 5 ) , Hoffmann and N i t s c h (1986) , Thompson (1986) .

A l l t r o p i c a l podzols are ex t r eme ly poor i n a l l major n u t r i e n t s ’

and i n most trace e l e m e n t s . The g r e a t t e x t u r a l c o n t r a s t i n t h i s

s o i l s between t h e A and t h e B / C h o r i z o n s i s u s u a l l y n o t caused

by a b i sequency . . i n p a r e n t material b u t by. thousands of y e a r s

of c l a y breakdown and wea the rab le m i n e r a l d e s t r u c t i o n th rough

r a i n water p e r c o l a t i o n .

I f w e t r y t o unde r s t and t h e g e n e s i s of t h e s e s o i l s w e can

s a y t ha t l i k e i n t h e humo-ferrugineous podzo l s of t empera t e re-

g i o n s , the d e s t r u c t i o n of a l l wea the rab le m i n e r a l s has l ed t o

t h e typical h o r i z o n d i f f e r e n c i a t i o n of t h e s e s o i l s . The o r g a n i c

f r a c t i o n s formed ‘ h e r e from a v e g e t a t i o n which does n o t appea r

t o be fundamenta l ly d i f f e r e n t from t h a t of t h e mixed D i p t e r o c a r p

f o r e s t c o v e r i n g t h e ne ighbor ing upland s o i l s , would have h e r e

an a c t i o n s imi l a r t o t ha t of the o r g a n i c f r a c t i o n s derived f r o m

a c o n i f e r o u s v e g e t a t i o n i n t empera t e climates ? That i s n o t

e v i d e n t .

I f w e a t t e m p t t o de t e rmine t h e f a c t o r s r a s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e pod-

z o l i s a t i ó n w e encoun te r :

- A ’ d e c r e a s e i n t h e p H , l i n k e d t o a s t r o n g d e s a t u r a t i o n , c o n d i t i -

’ oned by a ,h igh r a i n f a l l .

- A l o n g l a p s e of t i m e ; w e are s u r e t h a t t h e Palangka-Raya s u r -

face is exposed t o wea the r ing s i n c e . a t l eas t -_ 40.000’years . _.. -

B u t ’ a l l -. t h e s e factors are n o t s u f f i c i e n t t o s t a r t the podzo-

l i s a t i o n p r o c e s s ; t h e y are a l l p r e s e n t on t h e ne ighbor ing g r a n i t

areas and t h e r e are o n l y ferralsols . And y e t t h e r e i s a d i f f e -

r e n c e : t h e amount of c l a y s seems t o be always lower i n t h e ’ p a - I

. .,. ... .... -- ...-... .”. . ... .. . . . _ _ . _.___ . . . ,. . . . . .*..-..-u

t (" 8

r e n t material of t h e t r o p i c a l podzols . For t h a t w e are tempted

t o add t o t h e necessa ry f a c t o r s :

- A h igh amount of q u a r t z sand and g r a v e l i n t h e i n i t i a l m a t e r i a l

p robab ly always more than 70%.

THE H I G H PEAT

The p e a t areas i n t h e h i g h e s t p o s i t i o n s of t h e PALANGKA-

RAYA s u r f a c e are dome-shaped. Anderson ( 1 9 6 4 ) I Andriesse ( 1 9 7 2 )

and Notohadiprawiro ( 1 9 7 9 ) have shown s imi la r f e a t u r e s f o r p e a t

i n b a s i n swamps. W e have no e x a c t d a t a of t h e p e a t th ickness ,

on t h e h i g h e s t p a r t of t h e Kat ingan - Rungan watershed, w e can

o n l y s a y it exceeds 5 meters. T h e wa te r t a b l e i n t h i s t ype of

p e a t i s most ly i n t h e d r y season n e a r t h e s u r f a c e o r a t sha l low

depth. During t h e r a i n y season t h e p e a t is u s u a l l y f looded , ex-

t e r n a l d r a i n a g e is always low because of t h e i m p e r c e p t i b l e su r -

face s l o p e . On t h e Kat ingan - Rungan watershed t h i s t ype of p e a t

can o v e r l a y e i t h e r heavy c l a y d e p o s i t s o r A ho r i zons of b u r i e d

podzols .

Two c r o s s - s e c t i o n s t o g i v e t h e r e l a t i o n s of t h i s t y p e of

p e a t w i t h t h e t r o p i c a l podzols and t h e lower swamp p e a t are shown

i n f i g u r e 3 .

I f non reclaimed, t h i s t ype of p e a t is u s u a l l y f i b r i c , w i t h

f r e q u e n t c o a r s e woody d e b r i s and shows o n l y i n t h e upper 30

c m a hemic tendence. a .

The chemical composi t ion of such p e a t is given i n t a b l e 1LP 6 . 0 - w .

most of t h e ' h i g h p e a t s are v e r y poor i n p l a n t n u t r i e n t s .

t h e bu lk d e n s i t y of the p e a t t u r n s around 0,l t h e v a l u e s of

t a b l e 1 must be reduced by n e a r l y 90% t o have t h e approximate

f i e l d s i t u a t i o n . Peats of such type w e r e r e p o r t e d by several

a u t h o r s : W i j k ( 1951) , Pons ( 1 9 7 4 ) , Subagjo and D r i e s s e n ( 1 9 7 4 ) .

S i n c e '

. . _ . . - _. , _ _ _ . ~- ~~ ~ ~~

- . . . " . . - _ , , , . . . . - . . . . . . . .. . .. .. . . . I_ . ..... - . . . . _.._-.. .

4‘. ‘3.

This type of p e a t i s n o t recommandable f o r a g r i c u l t u r e ,

even i n places where t h e p e a t t h i c k n e s s i s weak because of t h e

v e r y poor , mos t ly sandy s u b s o i l . Without any. doubt t h e . . best

use , w i t h t he highest r e t u r n s , i s t o leave it i n i t s i n i t i a l

s ta te under forest o r under s y l v i c u l t u r a l management.

Genes is of t h i s type of p e a t is d i s c u s s e d i n t h e l a s t par t .

ZONE 2 - THE BASSIN PEAT O F THE CENTRAL AND UPPER SEBANGAU VALLEY

’ The b a s i n p e a t covers t h e l a r g e s t p a r t of t h e central and

upper SEBANGAU v a l l e y and the KEMIPANG bas in ’ i n the”KAT1NGAN

valley. I n b o t h valleys , ‘ SEBANGAU and KATINGAN, t h i s type

.of p e a t cove r s a l s o a l l t h e small l a t e r a l v a l l e y s and forms

a con t inuous cap c o v e r i n g a l l t h e landscape . I m p e r c e p t i b l y to-

wards t h e watersheds , t h e b a s i n peat changes t o a h i g h peat over-

l ay ing t h e p o d z o l i z e d PALANGKA-RAYA q u a t e r n a r y leve l . T h e topo-

g r a p h i c s i t u a t i o n of t h e b a s i n p e a t and i t s r e l a t i o n w i t h the

h i g h p e a t are r e p r e s e n t e d i n c r o s s s e c t i o n s II, III and I V , f i g . 3

Chemical a n a l y s i s of s u c h p e a t s o i l s are g iven i n t ab le 1, P 8 and 14- I

I n the SEBANGAU va l ley and i n t h e c e n t r a l p a r t of t h e KEMI-

PANG b a s i n , t h i s p e a t shows, l i k e the h i g h peat, a t o t a l absence

of m i n e r a l material. Even i n meander bends ,where . t h e p e a t i s

i n c o n t a c t w i t h the SEBANGAU w a t e r , t h e r e is n o t any m i n e r a l layer

p r e s e n t i n the peat. I

On t h e c o n t r a r y , i n the KATINGAN and t h e KAHAYAN v a l l e y ,

the b a s i n p e a t c o n t a i n s f r e q u e n t l y m i n e r a l material. T h i s i s

caused., by f l o o d i n g when the main r ivers are i n f lood ; b u t t h e

p e n e t r a t i o n of t h e f loodwa te r i n t o t h e p e a t areas r a re ly exceeds

two k i l o m e t e r s .

T h e absence of c lay levees and of m i n e r a l material i n the

. .’

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . , . . . . . . . . . . .

p e a t , a long t h e upper and cen t ra l SEBANGAU, i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e r e

has been no more s o l i d t r a n s p o r t i n t h i s v a l l e y d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d

' o f t h e p e a t accumulat ion ;. a n d t h i s f a c t s t a n d s i n s t r o n g con-

t ras t w i t h t he e x i s t e n c e of c l a y e y sandy a n d s i l t y sediments

under ly ing anywhere t h e peat i n t h e c e n t r a l SEBANGAU v a l l e y .

I f w e t r y t o unders tand the format ion of t h e SEBANGAU v a l l e y

p e a t , w e can s t a t e t h a t - t h e p e a t accumulation has gone on a paq

w i t h t h e p o s t wurmian r i s e i n sea l e v e l , and t h e worsening of t h e

lowland drainage c o n d i t i o n s . That means t h a t t h e SEBANGAU p e a t

accumulat ion has occured i n t h e l a s t 8000 y e a r s . W e can a l s o

s t a t e t h a t i n t h e recent pa r t of t h i s peri 'od there was no more

" m i n e r a l t r a n s p o r t " i n t h e r i v e r water f lowing through the va l -

l e y ; no more "KATINGAN~I fiow.

ZONE 3 - THE PEAT O F THE LOWER SEBANGAU VALLEY.

I n t h e lower SEBANGAU v a l l e y t h e p e a t r a r e l y exceeds 1

meter i n t h i c k n e s s and o v e r l a y s c l a y e y s i l t y mine ra l d e p o s i t s .

T h i s t y p e of sha l low p e a t i s no t restricted t o t h e ' r i v e r l e v e e

h u t it ex tends ' s e v e r a l k i l o m e t e r s deep on each s ide of t h e

SEBANGAU. F a r t h e r i n w a r d s , t h i s sha l low p e a t s h i f t s i m p e r c e p t i b l y

t o ' t h i c k e r b a s i n p e a t .

C h e m i c a l , a n a l y s i s of such p e a t s o i l s are given i n table ' . -

1, P o 7. T h i s p e a t shows a h i g h e r f e r t i l i t y t h a n t h e b a s i n

p e a t and t h i s f a c t can be c o r r e l a t e d w i t h t h e under ly ing m i n e r a l

d e p o s i t which i n f l u e n c e s t h e chemical composition of t h e p e a t .

Despi te the p.resence of m i n e r a l material , t h e p e a t bu lk d e n s i t y

remains low, and comparaisons w i t h t h e f e r t i l i t y l e v e l of o-

t h e r soils w i t h h igher b u l k d e n s i t y , ' can o n l y be done by u s i n g

a large c o r r e c t i o n f a c t o r .

.- . . . . . . . . .. . .. .... ..... ._ ..

TABLE 1 . CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF PEAT OF CENTRAL MUMANTAN PROVINCE

Profils (depth d p e a t )

( 4 7 5 m ) lJ

(100cm) 21 Pl4 (100cm) 21

(loom) y

V A l H C. E. C. C Total P Bases exchangeable, me

N . me % %O me% me% 'pm Ca Mg K Na Total %

1 3.3 57.5 1 . 4 42.6 5.7 3.8 0.7 0.3 10.5 183.8 5.7 0.6 10.9

2 3.4 57.4 ,1.0 59.2 3.4 2.9 0.6 0.3 7.2 185.4 3 . 9 0.9 1 6 . 4

Layer pH b 0 %

3.3 57.4 0.7 8 2 . 0 3.1 2 - 5 0 . 5 0 . 1 6.7 1 9 7 - 7 1 - 7 n - 5 31) q 1 3.5 56.4 1.1 6.0 2.7 0.2 0.4 9.3 221.6 4.0 7.0 ~

2 3.0 54.7 5.2 1.3 0 . 1 0.3 6.9 2 2 3 . 1 3 . 1 29.6 5.4 5.5 1 1 46.0 2.3 57.9 1.6 1.8 0.3 0.5 4.2 105.8 4.0 42.8 8.6

2 39.6 1.4150.5 2 . 1 1.5 0.3 0.4 4.3 114.6 3.7 26.4

3 4 .1 0.6 4.3 28.7 , 1 5 . 2 25 .1

3 - 1 4 5 . 4 1 - 8 5-7 3 - 0 1) 1 c] 4 8 q 1 6 1 3

19.6 0 . 1 14.2 1.5 1.3 0.2 0.4 3.4 70.3 4.7 57.5

Sourtes: lJ Data Test Farm IPB, 1986 2J DataTeem 8PP Teknologi, 1986 3J Data Fakultas Pertanian UGH, 1986

Note : Pmfik located in fig. 1

under p e r i o d i c a l l y by bra .ckish.water inf4uenced c o n d i t i o n s . I n ' t h e

m i n e r a l f r a c t i o n t h e p r e s e n c e of Montmor i l l on i t e , I r o n c h l o r i t e

a n d sometimes Siderite i n d i c a t e s a marine i n f l u e n c e d environment .

I n t h e s e peat s o i l s , the p resence of s u l p h u r goes on a p a r w i t h

I o r g a n i c matter. I t i s w e l l known t h a t i n absence df orgar i ic com-

pounds, s u l p h u r r a r e l y accumulates i n sea sediments ( Colmet

Daage, 1953) .

On t h i s type of peat,acidic c o n d i t i o n s , d e t r i m e n t a l t o p l a n t

growth, w i t h fo rma t ion of JAROSITE and Aluminium s u l p h a t e , can

appea r a f t e r r e c l a m a t i o n and d ra inage . U s u a l l y deep d r a i n a g e

has an u n f a v o r a b l e e f f e c t and magn i f i e s t h e a c i d i f i c a t i o n . We

must be always aware t h a t w e may have t o face problems i n c r o p

growth on t h i s type of s o i l s and w e have always t o p r o g r e s s on

s u c h s o i l s w i t h d r a i n a g e v e r y c a r e f u l l y .

PEAT FORMATION

Anyone knows t h a t peat means accumulat ion of o r g a n i c matter,

' b u t a l s o bad decomposi t ion, o r p a r t l y decomposi t ion o f o r g a n i c

matter.

I n s p i t e o f , t h e huge amount , o f phytomass produced by t ro -

p i c a l f o r e s t s , the c o n t e n t of o r g a n i c matter of t r o p i c a l s o i l s

is u s u a l l y low, lower t h a n i n the s o i l s of t empera t e areas. T h i s

f a c t i s e a s y t o unde r s t and : t h e main p r o c e s s of t h e b i o l o g i c a l

decomposi t ion of t h e o r g a n i c matter . , .. . . i s .. an . oxydation-, 'process 'and, w e

know t h a t , the veloci ty of , . an oxydat ion process i s - an e x p o n e n t i a l

f u n c t i o n of t h e t e m p e r a t u r e : T h e b i o l o g i c a l a c t i v i t y and, the

amount of decomposed o r g a n i c m a t t e r i s three t i m e h i g h e r aC 23PC

. . .- .- . . . . , ... .

. . .. .. , , , .. ,. . . . .

._. _. .-. . , ..... " ..._ ~ -. -.. . .." . . . . . .

t h a n a t 12"C, and near ' ly ze ro a t 4 ° C .

So, t h e c o l d appea r s as a main f a c t o r of bad decomposi t ion

of o r g a n i c matter and t h a t i s t h e r eason why p e a t accumula t ions

are so f r e q u e n t i n temperate c o l d and b o r e a l climates ; t h a t

i s a l s o t h e e x p l a n a t i o n why under a l l l a t k t u d e s t h e amount of

s o i l o r g a n i c matter i n c r e a s e s w i t h t h e a l t i t u d e . But t h i s f a c t o r .

d o e s n ' t p l a y . a n y r o l e i n t h e peat fo rma t ion of Kalimantan.

T h e second most import 'ant f a c t o r i n f l u e n c i n g t h e decomposi-

t i o n of t h e biomass is t h e temporary O Y permanent e x c e s s ' o f water

and t h e consequen t ly d e f i c i e n c y i n oxygen n e c e s s a r y f o r the decom-

p o s i t i o n of t h e o r g a n i c m a t t e r . Anyone knows t h a t most of the

t rop ica l p e a t s are l o c a t e d i n p o o r l y drained p o s i t i o n s .

Y e t , t o these t w o w e l l known main f a c t o r s , w e have t o add

t w o o t h e r s , less w e l l known, b u t a b l e t o p l a y a de te rminan t par t

. i n t h e i n i t i a l s t a g e s of a p e a t accumulat ion p rocess .

The f irst i s t h e a b i l i t y of o r g a n i c f r a c t i o n s t o react

w i t h s o i l s m i n e r a l s , t o b u i l t organo-mineral complexes i n which

t h e o r g a n i c component becomes more r e s i s t a n t t o b i o l o g i c a l de-

composi t ion. I t is sometimes e a s y t o p u t s u c h organo-mineral

complexes i n ev idence by s imple p e d o l o g i c a l a n a l y s i s : I n many

v o l c a n i c areas one can f i n d side by side s o i l s of d i f f e r e n t age

_ _ -_- - __

on i d e n t i c parent-material. For example i n t h e C e n t r a l Cameroon

h igh lands there are 20 meters t h i c k o x y s o i l s on one m i l l i o n years

o l d basalts nex t t o 3 meters th i ck younger s o i l s on 150.000 years

o l d basal ts , underb t he same v e g e t a t i o n , i n s i m i l a r e c o l o g i c a l

c o n d i t i o n s . (S ie f fe rmann, 1 9 7 3 ) . The o l d e r s o i l w i l l show you

a cumula t ive amount of 432 Tonnes of o r g a n i c matter per h e c t a r e

and the younger one' 729 Tonnes per hectare. T h e s t r o n g d i f f e r e n c e

i n o r g a n i c matter of t h e s e two s o i l types can n o t be imputed .to'

the v e g e t a t i o n , t h e c l ima te , ' t h e d r a i n a g e o r t h e t e x t u r e ; b o t h

s o i l s have a heavy c l a y e y t e x t u r e and a s i m i l a r i n t e r n a l d r a i n a g e .

I n t he younger s o i l t h e s t r o n g e r , c l a y bounded, o r g a n i c matter

i s more r e s i s t a n t and less b iodegradable . I n t h e o l d e r s o i l '

more o r g a n i c matter is decomposed t h a n i n ' t h e younger one, and

t h i s d e s p i t e o f a g r e a t e r d e s a t u r a t i o n . I n some cases, main ly i n

a l t i t u d e ' s i t u a t i o n s , t h i s p r o c e s s may induce water r e t e n t i o n , con-

d i t i o n s a n d can be the i n i t i a l s tage of a p e a t accumulat ion.

Organic matter accumulat ion can a l s o be induced by an exces-

~ sive d e s a t u r a t i o n . I n many t r o p i c a l and e q u a t o r i a l s i t u a t i o n s

t h e s o i l l i x i v i a t i o n th rough e x c e s s i v e r a i n f a l l s d u r i n g thousands

of years leads t o monomineral s o i l s w i t h upper h o r i z o n s o n l y

composed of q u a r t z s a n d , i n which t h e amount of l i f e i n d i s p e n s a b l e

major and trace e lements becomes n e a r l y zero . Such s o i l s are re-

. p r e s e n t e d i n t r o p i c a l and e q u a t o r i a l c o u n t r i e s by so called ''Tro-

p i c a l podzols" o r "Giant podzo l s " . I n t h e upper Ao hor i zons occur s .

" a ' slow accumula t ion of o r g a n i c matter, even i n w e l l d r a i n e d topo-

g r a p h i c p o s i t i o n s . The accumulat ion of o r g a n i c matter b e g i n s

here th rough a lack of t h e minimum amount of major and trace ele-

ments n e c e s s a r y f o r a normal m i c r o b i o l i g i c a l l i f e . T h i s p r o c e s s

once started can induce . i n t he h i g h e s t s u b h o r i z o n t a l topogra-

p h i c a l p o s i t i o n s a water logged o r g a n i c ho r i zon and s ta r t rap id ly

a p e a t accumulat ion.

.. . _ .

CONCLUSIONS

T h e m o s t impor tan t f a c t o r of p e a t accumulation i n C e n t r a l

Ka l iman tan is. t h e temporary o r pe rmanen t excess of water . T h e

p e d o l o g i c a l su rvey carried o u t i n t h e Palangka-Raya area has

'Shown t h a t b e s i d e s t h e b a s i n p e a t t h e r e a r e a l s o p e a t accumula-

t i o n s i n a 15 t o 20 meters h i g h e r p o s i t i o n ove r ly ing b u r i e d

t r o p i c a l podzols . T h e g e n e t i c r e l a t i o n s of t h e b u r i e d podzols

and t h e o v e r l a y i n g p e a t are shown. The p o d z o l i s a t i o n appears

as a p rev ious , much o l d e r , and necessa ry p r o c e s s f o r the accumu-

l a t i o n of t h i s type of "h igh" p e a t .

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. . ' \

The peat genesis in the lowlands of Central Kalimantan Province :...

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