Differences in Tropical Peat Soil Physical and Chemical Properties Under Different Land Uses: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract

Drainage and conversion of natural peatlands, which increases fire frequency, haze air pollution and carbon emissions, also affects the physical and chemical properties of peat soils. Although there has been continued interest in research on tropical peat soil properties, no attempt has yet been made to synthesise these results. We conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of sixty-six papers published in English language academic literature to explore the current state of knowledge of peat soil properties of Southeast Asia and to compare physical and chemical peat properties (e.g. bulk density, carbon content, pH) under different land uses and depths. Most of these studies were undertaken in Indonesia (56.1%) and Malaysia (28.8%), where substantial tracts of peat soils occur. We extracted data from these papers to calculate the mean of each peat property and compare results between land uses and depths. Linear mixed-effects models were used to test the significance of land use and depth on each peat property. We found that bulk density (44 papers), carbon (C) content (43 papers), pH (42 papers) and nitrogen (N) content (39 papers) were the most widely reported, while other properties remain less studied. Bulk density, pH, phosphorus (P) and calcium (Ca) showed significant differences between land uses and depths. Fibre fraction, potassium (K), iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) levels showed a significant difference between land uses only, while N differed significantly only between soil depths. Other physical properties such as hydraulic conductivity, porosity, woody fraction, amorphic fraction and chemical properties such as electrical conductivity (EC), C, ammonium (NH4+), nitrate (NO3−), available nitrogen (available N), magnesium (Mg), aluminium (Al), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), sulphur (S) and silicon (Si) showed no significant differences between land uses or depths. This review identifies key research gaps, including underrepresented geographic areas and peat properties and highlights the need for standardised methodologies for measuring peat soil properties.