Quantification of woody biomass after clearing of peat forest

A. Mohammad and A.B. Ismail

Abstract

A study to quantify the amount of woody biomass present above and below ground surface immediately after clearing of a peat swamp forest was carried out at MARDI Peat Research Station, Sessang, Sarawak. The area had been partially drained for more than five years and had previously been heavily logged. ‘Slashand- stack’ method of land clearing had left behind about 2,277 m³/ha of forest debris, occupying 13–17% of the cleared area. The volume of the woody debris with a diameter larger than 1.5 cm was about 169 m³/ha, with an estimated weight of about 123 x 10³ kg/ha. More than half of the woody debris was of diameter less than 15 cm. Below the surface, the woody biomass increased with depth, ranging from 7–20% of the soil volume, with an overall volume of about 15% in the top one meter. The bulk of the debris was of diameter 2.5–15 cm.

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