NUTRIENT DYNAMICS IN DIFFERENT SUB-TYPES OF OMBROTROPHIC PEAT SWAMP FOREST IN CENTRAL KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA

摘要

Peat swamp forests of Southeast Asia are ombrotrophic ecosystems in which the only input of water and nutrients is from atmospheric deposition and precipitation while outputs are by mass flow of surface drainage water. Internal nutrient transfers are mostly related to maintenance of the forest biomass through gravitational influence (throughflow, stemflow and litterfall) and recycling (decomposition and uptake), and to storage in or release from the surface peat (accumulation or degradation). Comparing of the nutrient dynamics of two subtypes of tropical peat swamp forest, mixed swamp forest and low pole forest shows that nutrient inputs were higher than nutrient losses during a 1-year study period with the greatest nutrient gain for Ca while Mn was the lowest in both sub-types of forest. It is essential that the surplus of nutrients is being stored in currently accumulating peat.