Pedosphere 13(1): 49--57, 2003
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2003 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Soil resources and land use in tropical Asia |
| K. KYUMA |
| Graduate School, Kasetsart University, Bang Khen, Bangkok 10900 (Thailand) |
| ABSTRACT |
| Tropical Asia is a region comprising South and Southeast Asia and under strong influence of the Asian monsoon climate. It is characterized by an extremely high population density and by high land use intensity. Paddy rice cultivation is the most important form of agriculture in the greater part of the region. Soil resources of tropical Asia have a specific feature in comparison with tropical Africa and America. Ultisols dominate in uplands, and lowland soils like Inceptisols and Histosols are relatively abundant. The latter point is made clearer if we take the landforms of the region with a vast extent of lowlands into consideration. Geologically, tropical Asia with the Himalayan orogeny and active volcanism exhibits a conspicuous contrast to tropical Africa and America with the dominance of the shield structure. This along with the monsoon climate should have determined the basic features of landforms and soil, and accordingly all the agricultural and social characteristics of tropical Asia today. Although paddy rice cultivation in the lowland is highly sustainable, upland cultivation in extensive Ultisol areas tends to be handicapped by low fertility and high erodibility of the soil, resulting in low sustainability. Land shortage is compelling people to exploit slopelands in hills and mountains, on the one hand, and thus far unutilized coastal lowlands, on the other. Both of these new reclamations are facing to serious land degradation problems today. Tropical Asia will continue to be the most densely populated region of the world with ever-increasing population. In order to meet the increasing food demand lowland rice cultivation should be intensified by the infrastructure development to ease the stresses on slopelands and vulnerable coastal lowlands. At the same time, upland crop production in Ultisol areas should be stabilized and enhanced, providing integrated nutrient management and measures for soil conservation. |
| Key Words: coastal lowland, land shortage, paddy rice land, slopeland, sustainable land use |
| Citation: Kyuma, K. 2003. Soil resources and land use in tropical Asia. Pedosphere. 13(1): 49-57. |
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