Swampland can help boost rice output
Swampland can help boost rice output
By Kardono
JAKARTA (JP): The government's plan to convert 1.3 million hectares of Central Kalimantan swampland into rice fields (The Jakarta Post, Nov. 29) reveals the potential of such land.
The plan, if materialized, would yield about 4 tons of rice per hectare and it is hoped that Indonesia will again become self sufficient in rice.
Swampland and rice fields have much in common. Both are a type of wetland, which generally form transition zones between terrestrial land forms and water bodies. Wetlands are also able to support plant life and aquatic systems.
Because of their position, wetlands are usually the recipient or nutrients from runoff water and erosion. High productivity and low decomposition rates result in one of the most common characteristics of wetlands -- the accumulation of organic matter.
A wetland should have three main components: the dominance of water, the presence of wet soil and the ability to support suitable vegetation.
Wetlands, which include swamps, marshes and bogs, are found on every continent except Antarctica and in every climate from the tropics to the tundra. An estimated 6 percent of the earth's land surface is wetland. Wetlands are found in arid regions in the form of salt flats; in humid, cool regions as bogs; and along temperate, subtropical and tropical coastlines in the form of salt marshes and mangrove swamps.
Wetlands are among the most important ecosystems on earth. In the great scheme of things, it was the swampy environment of the Carboniferous Period that produced and preserved many of the fossil fuels on which we now depend. Wetlands are also a valuable source of chemical, biological and genetic materials.
Wetlands -- as the downstream receivers of waste from both natural and human sources -- are sometimes described as "the kidneys of the landscape" for the functions they perform in hydrologic and chemical cycles. They have been found to cleanse polluted waters, prevent floods, protect shorelines, and recharge groundwater aquifers. Furthermore, and most important to some, wetlands play major roles in the landscape by providing unique habitats for a wide variety of flora and fauna.
Domestic wetlands such as rice paddies feed a large portion of the world's population. Peat lands have been mined by several countries as a source of energy. Mangrove wetlands are important for timber, food and tannin in many countries. Salt marshes were used for centuries for grazing, hay production and thatching for roofs.
In the world, significant wetland conversion to other uses did not occur until early in the industrial era, because agricultural land was always available in that time, and it was easier to move on than to develop such marginal land.
In Indonesia, it was not until about the last 20 years that farmers and government began to turn their attention to the less agriculturally desirable wetlands that always required extensive drainage before they could be farmed. Although expensive to prepare, many wetlands make productive agricultural lands for several reasons. They are usually somewhat flat and lend themselves to mechanized farming, especially for rice paddy plant. Having formed under wet conditions, the soils usually have higher organic matter content than the surrounding uplands. Also, since wetlands usually occupy the lowest position in the landscape, erosional material containing clays are usually deposited in wetlands, adding to both the fertility and water holding capacity of the soil.
Most wetland conversions to agriculture have reasonably been successful. However, we need to be careful not to damage the original environmental conditions. For example, when converting coastal acid sulfate soils, such as the swamps in Central Kalimantan, to agricultural fields, some attention must be given. These are soils that have accumulated pyrites during their formation. Oxidation of pyritic material occurred when these areas were drained and resulted in extreme acidity, which might make the area unusable.