Acid Sulfate Soils (ASS): Their Impacts on Water Quality and Estuarine Aquatic Organisms with Special Reference to East Australia and South China Coasts

Abstract

Acid export from acid sulfate soils into aquatic ecosystems were examined in three sites: (1) a well-drained sugar cane block on the Tweed River estuarine floodplain; (2) a relatively poorly-drained pasture swamp; and (3) an empoldered paddy rice field. The first two sites are located in small river systems on the eastern Australian coast and the third is part of the deltaic plain of the Pearl River, a large river system in the South China coast. It is found that the extent to which, and the processes through which, acid sulfate soil-derived degradation of aquatic ecology occur vary among these sites and this is attributed to their different soil characteristics, physical settings, and landuses. These results have implications for potential intensive aquaculture ventures in the different locations.