| Summary: | Peat fire incidents destroy the above-ground vegetation and penetrate the underlying peat, resulting in undesirable environmental impacts, including organic matter. In this study, the effects of the fires on the peat swamp forest of Raja Musa Peat Swamp Reserve Forest, Malaysia, were investigated through the characterization of dissolved organic matter extracted from the soil in burnt and unburnt sites. The organic matter composition was extracted by the alkaline extraction method. The elemental composition, UV-Visible spectrometer, fluorescence spectrofluorometer, analysis of amino acid and carbohydrate species performed the characterization of organic matter. The results showed soil physical and chemical properties variations among the two peat soil areas. The DOM of the burnt soil samples was found to be more aromatic and contained more carbon content than the unburnt soil. The total amino acid concentration (TAC) and total carbohydrate concentration (TCC) in DOM ranged from 3.1 to 6.8 and 10.8 to 28.3 mg/g. The biological index (BIX), which is related to the soil's biological activity, was higher in unburnt soil. The outcomes from this study will be of great use to further understand the biogeochemical processes in this unique ecosystem and can be used in peat swamp forest management. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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