TYPES OF SOIL IN MALAYSIA
Soil is a natural resource that is vital for living things. Soil is defined as an incoherent mineral and organic material that works as a natural element for the survival of living things. Retallack et al. (1984) proposed that soil is a “material at the surface of a planet or similar body, altered in place by physical chemical or biological agencies, or by a combination of them” (p. 7). Malaysia’s average temperature ranges from 20 degree Celsius to 30 degree Celsius with rainfall generally distributed throughout the year. Lim and Samah (2004) mentioned that soil is formed efficiently in Malaysia due to Malaysia’s climate and temperature. Tay (1969) supports that efficient rainfall distribution contributed to soil
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Thus, these three factors are related and play important roles to sustain the nutrients in Histosols content. Histosols can be found in lowland areas with heavy rainfall, shallow lakes or tidal flat areas that are majorly accumulated by plant residues. Poorly decomposed and drained of soils are commonly known as peats. Meanwhile the well-decomposed Histosols are often drained for specialized farming and plantation known as mucks. This type of soil is only suitable for certain types of crop that are able to adapt with excessive water supplies. High agriculture productivity can be obtained with good drainage and management of Histosols. The plantation of crops such as oil palm, pineapples, banana and sago plants are best adapted crops in histosol soil with shallow rooting and fibrous root system. The order distribution of Histosol within Malaysia is viewed through major crops grown in Perak, Kedah, Johor, Selangor and widely in Sarawak. Examples of crops that are dominantly growing in Histosols are cocoa, paddy, rubber, oil palm and pineapples. Rydin and Jeglum (2006) identifies the type of vegetation that adapts to quality of Histosols is mixed swamp forest which slowly degrades into light monotonous forest which comprises of only a few tree species. The second type of soils in Malaysia is Oxisols. Wambeke (1992) stated that “Oxisols are soils that carry the marks of strong weathering and desilication in humid,
Biomes are appropriate conditions for organizing the natural world because the organisms that live in them common constellations of adaptations, particularly the climate of each of the areas and the characteristic vegetation types that develops in these divisions. It should be understood that the climate is perhaps the most important in determining classes of individuals who may live in an area and the ways they should be amended to live under different conditions of temperature and precipitation and seasonal distribution of these factors element. Every place on Earth has its own climate, influenced by both macroclimate regions as the particular microclimate. The soils are very important because they are essential to determine the types of plants that will grow into a bioclimatic zone in partical, in addition, also as substrates for animals serve. In turn, the soils are heavily influenced by regional climate, as well as the geology of the bedrock. At the same time we have to keep in mind the diversity of plants like the flora just like the diversity of the fauna as well as the adaptation of both.
The project identifies and analyse how the vegetation of the area can be influenced by soil composition and climate by performing first hand investigation such as analysing soil type and grain size. It’s also about the aspects of the local environment that have been affected by people and propose realistic solutions to the problems that exist.
These are soils consisting predominantly of unaltered mineral material that have no surface/sub-surface horizon attributed to soil forming processes (unless buried under a 730cm thick deposit from the Holocene) (Avery, 1980;). These soils do not normally have continuous vegetation cover (Avery, 1980). They occur in very recently formed soil and may have a superficial organic or organo-mineral layer less than 5cm thick. Sometimes they have a buried horizon below 30cm of depth. (Thompson, 2007; Jarvis, 1984).
Extracted soil samples indicate simultaneous reduction of rainfall and occasional erosion. Both soil and sediment features show establishment of marked
Vast numbers and kinds of organisms, mainly microorganisms, inhabit soil and depend on it for shelter, food, and water. Plants anchor themselves in soil, and from it they receive essential minerals and water. Terrestrial plants could not survive without soil, and because we depend on plants for our food, humans could not exist without soil either (Wiley, 2013).
I watched a Ted Talk on YouTube called Ted x Huntsville, it was presented by Karen Wynne and was published October 1st, 2014. The topic that Wynne talked about was the concept of stopping treating soil like dirt. She started by stating a quote by Leonardo Da Vinci that said: “We know more about the celestial bodies than the soil under our feet”. This was an interesting way of introducing her talk since after saying we near nothing about earth she begun to tell us the difference between soil and dirt introducing the topic at hand. For soil she gave the basic definition that it was a mixture of sand, silt, and clay plus air holes, water, and organic matter and as for dirt she just simply washed her hands on her shirt as if it was nothing after playing with the soil. So, already she was hands on and showed that we humans don’t really care about our soil.
Look around you; do you think that we need soil in our everyday lives? Sure we do. Natural flowing water is filtered through the soil thus making it drinkable. We breathe the air that is produced by plants that grow in soil. Our clothes wouldn’t be made if the cotton plant had no soil to grow in.
Franklin D Roosevelt once said, “the history of every Nation is eventually written in the way in which it cares for its soil.” The United States began seeing sustainable management practices in farms, and healthier soil through this act. In 1982 through 2007, the United States soil erosion had declined by 43%” (Montanarella, 2015). Every year the United States loses about $400 billion dollars due to crop soil that is eroded. Soil is a limited resource and the largest resource for growing food, accommodating diverse ecosystems, and providing food resources. Therefore laws, acts, and provisions are necessary to protect this natural resource.
Soil is the word that literally holds this world together. Without the necessity of soil, we probably wouldn’t even be where we are today. It is the main support system for our earth because it holds the roots to the ground, keeping our ground in tact. When we can’t control what happens in nature, like the Dust Bowl, we may be hit with unexpected dangers, but when it comes to things we can control we need to act right away. In the 1930’s, with little to no rainfall, weak soil and no advanced technology the people in the great plains were headed for a major catastrophe. They had no control over the way their land was moving, so it just kept going and eventually ended up to be known around the world as the Dust Bowl. If they would have had the
Thus, in conclusion, this essay has considered: the definition of soil, identifying the components of, and its contribution to soils unique properties, and the critical roles in which soils play to sustain life on Earth. Soil, therefore, coincides with life on our
Urbanization brings about a new set of problems to the environment. These problems include air pollution and land pollution. As new builds and roads are built the ability of soil to absorb
The soils of the marshlands here are rich and wet. They were once considered ideal for celery growing, but farming here depended on
Dallas, located in the northeastern part of the state, has a variety of different types of soil. The Gulf Coastal Plain is composed of red and yellow soils, which can be beneficial for the vegetation if proper fertilizer is used (Escape to Texas). Moving more towards central Texas, it has “soils based on weathered decayed limestone” (Escape to Texas). Much of the Dallas area has grassland vegetation, which comes from Mollisol soils, which are rich in calcium and other nutrients (Ritter). The intensely hot summers cause the soil to possess high moisture retention so as not to dry up easily, but when they do become dry, they have a “granular structure and soft consistency” (Ritter). A typical soil profile of this soil type would include “dark brown to black organic rich surface layers” (Ritter). The soil in this area has been used to alter the landscapes, and recently have been used for “cropland and pasture to
Erosion removes the surface soils, containing most of the organic matter, plant nutrients, and fine soil particles, which help to retain water and nutrients in the root zone where they are available to plants. Thus it affects the productivity of plants. The remaining, the subsoil, tends to be less fertile, less absorbent and less able to retain pesticides, fertilizers, and other plant nutrients. There are over 17,000 soil types recognized worldwide. They vary widely in structure, erodibility, fertility, and ability to produce crops. A generalized soil profile for a humid, temperate climate is showed. When the natural vegetation is cleared for agriculture, soils become exposed to erosion and loss of soil fertility. The removal of the above-ground natural
Thus, these regression equations developed in this study could be used to monitor soil quality in a subhumid tropical rice–wheat cropping system.