Tropical peat soil changes across successive oil palm generations in Sarawak, Malaysia

Oil palm is commonly replanted once reaching the end of its productive lifespan. This cyclical planting practice in oil palm plantations could have long-term implications for the humification and properties of tropical peat soil. This study aimed to investigate the changes observed across successive...

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Published in:Heliyon
Main Author: Ratai J.; Teh C.B.S.; Tan N.P.; Mohidin H.; Goh K.J.; Sangok F.E.; Melling L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Ltd 2024
Online Access:https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85203664361&doi=10.1016%2fj.heliyon.2024.e37754&partnerID=40&md5=fe6a8fcb04b3ac67c71bddbff41a4d03
id 2-s2.0-85203664361
spelling 2-s2.0-85203664361
Ratai J.; Teh C.B.S.; Tan N.P.; Mohidin H.; Goh K.J.; Sangok F.E.; Melling L.
Tropical peat soil changes across successive oil palm generations in Sarawak, Malaysia
2024
Heliyon
10
18
10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e37754
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85203664361&doi=10.1016%2fj.heliyon.2024.e37754&partnerID=40&md5=fe6a8fcb04b3ac67c71bddbff41a4d03
Oil palm is commonly replanted once reaching the end of its productive lifespan. This cyclical planting practice in oil palm plantations could have long-term implications for the humification and properties of tropical peat soil. This study aimed to investigate the changes observed across successive generations of oil palm plantations in Sarawak, Malaysia. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was applied to examine the quality of the Soil Organic Matter (SOM), specifically the functional groups, humification index, Hydrophobicity Index (HI), and Degree of Degradation (DDI). Overall, the peat humification trend was in the order of 2nd Gen > Forest >1st Gen. The higher presence of recalcitrant compounds of lignin in the soil was attributed to the higher HI and lower DDI in the 2nd Gen. The relationship between the Pyrophosphate Solubility Index (PSI) and the humification index further revealed a significant increase in the relative abundance of humic substances with the maturity of degraded organic matter. These findings suggest a notable transition, implicating a shift towards a more stable form of SOM over the long-term utilization of tropical peatland for oil palm plantations. This is characterised by a significant increase in the relative abundance of aromatic, phenolic, and carboxylic functional groups. The study also highlights the need for further research on the linkage between these changes and greenhouse gas emissions to enhance our understanding of the long-term biogeochemical cycle of oil palm on tropical peatlands. © 2024 The Authors
Elsevier Ltd
24058440
English
Article
All Open Access; Gold Open Access
author Ratai J.; Teh C.B.S.; Tan N.P.; Mohidin H.; Goh K.J.; Sangok F.E.; Melling L.
spellingShingle Ratai J.; Teh C.B.S.; Tan N.P.; Mohidin H.; Goh K.J.; Sangok F.E.; Melling L.
Tropical peat soil changes across successive oil palm generations in Sarawak, Malaysia
author_facet Ratai J.; Teh C.B.S.; Tan N.P.; Mohidin H.; Goh K.J.; Sangok F.E.; Melling L.
author_sort Ratai J.; Teh C.B.S.; Tan N.P.; Mohidin H.; Goh K.J.; Sangok F.E.; Melling L.
title Tropical peat soil changes across successive oil palm generations in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_short Tropical peat soil changes across successive oil palm generations in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_full Tropical peat soil changes across successive oil palm generations in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_fullStr Tropical peat soil changes across successive oil palm generations in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Tropical peat soil changes across successive oil palm generations in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_sort Tropical peat soil changes across successive oil palm generations in Sarawak, Malaysia
publishDate 2024
container_title Heliyon
container_volume 10
container_issue 18
doi_str_mv 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e37754
url https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85203664361&doi=10.1016%2fj.heliyon.2024.e37754&partnerID=40&md5=fe6a8fcb04b3ac67c71bddbff41a4d03
description Oil palm is commonly replanted once reaching the end of its productive lifespan. This cyclical planting practice in oil palm plantations could have long-term implications for the humification and properties of tropical peat soil. This study aimed to investigate the changes observed across successive generations of oil palm plantations in Sarawak, Malaysia. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was applied to examine the quality of the Soil Organic Matter (SOM), specifically the functional groups, humification index, Hydrophobicity Index (HI), and Degree of Degradation (DDI). Overall, the peat humification trend was in the order of 2nd Gen > Forest >1st Gen. The higher presence of recalcitrant compounds of lignin in the soil was attributed to the higher HI and lower DDI in the 2nd Gen. The relationship between the Pyrophosphate Solubility Index (PSI) and the humification index further revealed a significant increase in the relative abundance of humic substances with the maturity of degraded organic matter. These findings suggest a notable transition, implicating a shift towards a more stable form of SOM over the long-term utilization of tropical peatland for oil palm plantations. This is characterised by a significant increase in the relative abundance of aromatic, phenolic, and carboxylic functional groups. The study also highlights the need for further research on the linkage between these changes and greenhouse gas emissions to enhance our understanding of the long-term biogeochemical cycle of oil palm on tropical peatlands. © 2024 The Authors
publisher Elsevier Ltd
issn 24058440
language English
format Article
accesstype All Open Access; Gold Open Access
record_format scopus
collection Scopus
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