. . 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 .
*
t*
* * *
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
C.
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. * \
z
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 . . . - . ,. . ,. .*
. .
. .
I
. .
. I
Many areas of t h
' INTRODUCTION
C e n t r a l Kalimantan P r v i n r
are cover
3.
d
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.:
:: * . . . .:
'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. ... . . . .~
c
3 2 4 Js 10 20 30Km
Figure 2. SOIL DISTRIBUTION
c 5
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.
.- . _.. _- ._ ._... ._. - ..-.... .” . . , . .._-.. - . , . ~ -- .. . .. . . . . . . . - ,
. 6
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 .
1
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
7
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 :
e t .
- 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_ . ..... - . . . . _.._-.. .
9 !<
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
1.'.
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 .
I v .
.- . . . . . . . . .. . .. .... ..... ._ ..
TABLE 1 . CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF PEAT OF CENTRAL MUMANTAN PROVINCE
Profils (depth d p e a t )
P6
( 4 7 5 m ) lJ
(100cm) 21 Pl4 (100cm) 21
P7
(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
3
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
c
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 .
15
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