8 Problems You May Face in Peat Soils and Its Management

What is peat soil?

Peat soils are those in which partially or wholly decomposed organic matter occupies more than half of the uppermost 80 cm of the profile, either present at the ground surface or buried by mineral soil material not more than 40 cm thick.

Peat soils - Soil and its management

How peat soils form?

Peat soils form due to the following four reasons:
1. Low temperature.
2. Persistent water logging
3. Extreme acidity and
4. The presence of high levels of electrolytes or organic toxic.

Problems of peat soils:

1. Peat soils are potentially strongly acid and the availability of essential nutrients is low.
2. Deep and sometimes rapid flooding during heavy pre-monsoon and monsoon rainfall.
3. Deficient in plant nutrients.
4. Low bearing capacity.
5. Unsuitability for reclamation by drainage.
6. Microbial activity is very high as a result antagonistic relation occurs.
7. When peat dried, it shrinks and cracks making soils difficult to re-wet and it becomes very hard and does not absorb water easily.
8. Difficult communication aggravated by the unsuitability of the organic soil materials for making road embankment.

How can you manage peat soils?

The agricultural productivity of peat soil is usually low, though it is somewhat better where there is mineral topsoil. Soils in which peat or muck occurs at or near the surface are best left in natural condition and land used for reed-production, fishing and for nature conservation.

The management practices for peat soils that can be adopted are:

1. Drainage: The water table of peat soil normally must be lowered for intensive cultivation. Shallow drainage ditches can be constructed for reclamation. As a rule, the vegetation is left standing because it helps drying of the peat.
2. Fertilization: Peat soils are low in available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and some micro nutrients. Only field or soils can indicate efficient fertilization programs. This is an example of a soil that is totally organic but that is not optimum in nutrition for plant growth.
Phosphorus levels of peat soils are extremely variable as phosphorus is pH sensitive element.
3. Acidity control: The range of pH of peat soils is between 4.5 and 8.5 but higher values are possible when soluble sodium salts are present. The acidity of peat soils is due to the presence of organic acids, exchangeable hydrogen, iron sulfide, silicic acid. Extremely acidic layers present in some peat soils are believed to form under condition that present in certain brakish coastal soils.