Page 90 - E-BOOK English

Profile features

The diagnostic characteristics of Histosols are soils consisting of organic materials.
Common names are also called bogs or bog soils, moors, peat and muck soils. Some Histosols
have shallow depths of organic materials, overlying rock fragments, or some are deep. These
soils have high water holding capacity, high shrinkage when they dry out, low bulk density, and
high porosity.

Environment and landforms

Histosols occur in all climates, but the vast majority occurs in lowlands with saturation.
In general, they are found in a poorly-drained basin with the shallow water table and prolonged
water saturation all the time or most of the time, of which preferred conditions for the
accumulation of organic materials. They also occur in coastal peat areas, a low basin of highland,
or along with infiltration galleries of slope areas where the air is not too hot with anaerobic
conditions and high humidity, enhancing the collection of plant residues.

Use and management

Peat areas or the areas of Histosols in some places have been used, especially for
cultivation at the edge of the peat and those areas where histic horizons are not too thick with
drainage. However, in general, Histosols are not suitable for economic crop production. They
are usually not classified as productive soils for agriculture with basic soil and plant management.
The land-use problems involve flooding conditions, physical and chemical properties. The
selected areas of Histosols, developing for agricultural purposes, should have the histic horizon

with a depth of thinner than 1 m and the water table of 30 cm from the surface. Water table
control is needed for both avoiding flooding and draining excess water off the peat area. In a
virgin forest, the peat area should be kept for soil and water conservation. The selection of
plant species for Histosols should be carefully studied along with current technology and soil
amendment. Moreover, liming is essential to reduce the acidity of these soils.

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