Forest soil is a soil that has been developed under forest cover, or a forest that has

been disturbed but once was covered by forest vegetation. For forest soils in particular,
the principal characteristic is the development of an organic layer on the soil surface,
usually referred as forest floor. This particular horizon contains fresh organic materials
from dead plants and animals, that are easily degraded by microorganisms, especially by
bacteria and fungi. This layer is represented with the letter "O" that means organic, due to
the accumulation of organic matter. As the soil depth increase, the availability of organic
matter decreases, having as result a more mineral soil layer. In fact, tropical forest soils
have high clay content and lower soil organic matter accumulation. A good example of
these, are the Tropical Rainforest which usually have low pH and low plant nutrient due
to the translocation of clay particles that carried non acid cations into the soil. Some
examples of these soils are the Ultisols and Oxisols.

Peat soil is an important ecosystem that provides a significant contribution to the

global climate stability. In Malaysia, peat soils are considered as a soil with little
economic benefit, apart from it being used for agricultural activity. Most notable are the
large peat land on the islands of Borneo (belonging to Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei)
and Sumatra (Indonesia). The main contributory functions and benefits of peat soil are
within the engineering disciplines of hydrology, agriculture, social-economics,
biodiversity habitats and carbon sequestration. The western coastal lowlands of Malaysia
(such as Kukup) are mangroves that represent the initiation of peat soil formation. Such
areas provide the natural habitat of mangrove forests. It also fixes more carbon from the
atmosphere than is released and approximately one-quarter of the carbon stored in land
plants and soils. The healthy peat lands of Malaysia provides an environmental benefit.