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    APPENDIX C - Acid Sulfate Soil

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    Ryl
    1. Acid sulfate soils are common in coastal areas of Southeast Asia and can constrain coastal aquaculture development. They form when pyrite crystals develop in swamp soils and release sulfuric acid when exposed to oxygen. 2. These soils have low pH levels which can harm fish and reduce pond productivity. Managing water levels and applying lime are effective ways to reduce acidity and improve pond conditions. 3. Proper management practices like maintaining adequate water depths, controlling dike erosion, and drying/flushing ponds can also help address issues from acid sulfate soils.

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    APPENDIX C - Acid Sulfate Soil

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    Ryl
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    1. Acid sulfate soils are common in coastal areas of Southeast Asia and can constrain coastal aquaculture development. They form when pyrite crystals develop in swamp soils and release sulfuric acid when exposed to oxygen. 2. These soils have low pH levels which can harm fish and reduce pond productivity. Managing water levels and applying lime are effective ways to reduce acidity and improve pond conditions. 3. Proper management practices like maintaining adequate water depths, controlling dike erosion, and drying/flushing ponds can also help address issues from acid sulfate soils.

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    1. Acid sulfate soils are common in coastal areas of Southeast Asia and can constrain coastal aquaculture development. They form when pyrite crystals develop in swamp soils and release sulfuric acid when exposed to oxygen. 2. These soils have low pH levels which can harm fish and reduce pond productivity. Managing water levels and applying lime are effective ways to reduce acidity and improve pond conditions. 3. Proper management practices like maintaining adequate water depths, controlling dike erosion, and drying/flushing ponds can also help address issues from acid sulfate soils.

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    APPENDIX C - Acid Sulfate Soil

    Uploaded by

    Ryl
    1. Acid sulfate soils are common in coastal areas of Southeast Asia and can constrain coastal aquaculture development. They form when pyrite crystals develop in swamp soils and release sulfuric acid when exposed to oxygen. 2. These soils have low pH levels which can harm fish and reduce pond productivity. Managing water levels and applying lime are effective ways to reduce acidity and improve pond conditions. 3. Proper management practices like maintaining adequate water depths, controlling dike erosion, and drying/flushing ponds can also help address issues from acid sulfate soils.

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    APPENDIX C

    ACID SULFATE SOILS

    One of the constraints for the further development and expansion of coastal fishpond culture in the region is the
    problem associated with acid sulfate soils. Approximately, 5 million hectares of coastal area in the South and
    Southeast Asia are known to be potential or actual acid sulfate soils (Poernomo and Singh, 1982).

    Acid sulfate soils are those that contain a high proportion of hydrogen and aluminum ions compared to the
    hydroxyl ions. Soils characterized by this condition result to poor productivity when utilized as fishponds. High
    acidity conditions cause slow fish growth and mortalities, poor fertilizer response, low natural food production, and
    erosion of dike soils because of poor grass cover.

    1. FORMATION OF ACID SULFATE SOIL

    Figure C.1 illustrates the origin and development of acid sulfate soils. Basically, this type of soils results from the
    formation of pyrite. The process involves the accumulation and deposition of sedimentary parent materials of
    mangrove soils on coastal edges resulting in the establishment of swamp forests. During the development of
    swamp forests, organic and inorganic debris are trapped by the rooting activities of trees giving rise to bacterial
    decomposition. As a result, abundant sulfate from seawater is reduced to sulfides which undergo chemical
    reactions to form crystals known as mineral pyrites.

    Fig. C.1 Formation of acid sulfate soils


    (From Potter, 1976)

    1
    2. PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

    Poernomo and Singh (1982) cited the following physical and chemical properties of acid sulfate soils:

    a. Bulk density, 1.0 g/cm3 to 1.4 g/cm3


    b. Texture, generally clayey and rarely loamy or sandy
    c. pH, 3 to 6.5
    d. Organic carbon, 1.5% to 18%
    e. Cation/Exchange capacity, 10 to 25 meq/100 g
    f. Total sulfur, 0.1% to 0.75%

    3. FIELD IDENTIFICATION

    Below is a practical and simple guide in identifying actual and potential acid sulfate soils.

    Criteria Characteristics/Indications
    Tidal mangrove, back swamps of marine and estuarine areas with slight
    Occurrence depressions; low terraces on landward side, and criss-crossed by tidal
    creeks.
    Soil characteristics:
    Pale yellow mottles overlying the subsoil. Red colouration of pond bottom
    Colour
    when drained.
    Odour Strong muddy odour due to ferrous and hydrogen sulfide
    Organic matter:
    Content High
    Variation in elevation Occurrence of mounds, especially of mud lobster
    Land form
    (Thalassina anomala)
    Dominance of dense rooting vegetation especially Rhizophora,
    Vegetation Nypa and Melaleuca
    Poor or spotly growth or absence of vegetation on fishpond dikes

    4. MANAGEMENT

    The potential adverse effect of acid sulfate soils can be prevented with proper engineering and construction work
    and good management practices. However, most of the suggested solutions are associated with the problem of
    economics. The following practices have been found to be effective.

    4.1 Reducing the volume of exposed dike soil in relation to pond area

    A hectare of fish farm that has five compartments of 2 000 m 2 each has more volume of exposed dike soil than
    one with two compartments of 5 000 m 2 each. During heavy rains, the acid soil in the dike reacts with runoff which
    mixes with the pond water. Due to smaller volume of water in the 2 000 m 2 ponds, the resulting concentration of
    acidic water will be higher than in the 5 000 m 2pond with greater volume of water and less amount of acidic runoff
    mixing with it due to smaller volume of dike soil.

    Observations of pH in ponds at Gelang Patah, Malaysia indicate that smaller ponds are more severely affected
    during rainfall than larger ones. With this, it is recommended that size of ponds in acid sulfate soils should not be
    smaller than 0.5 ha and with water depth of 1.0 meter or more at all times (Ti, et al., 1982).

    4.2 Liming

    The effectiveness of lime application to control soil and water acidity has been well established. Lime improves
    water pH and phosphate fertilizer response. Recommendations on the rate of application range from the minimum
    2
    to prohibitive amounts. To determine the lime requirement, the following procedure by Boyd (1967) and by the
    ASEAN National Coordinating Agency of the Philippines (1978) are as follows.

    (a) Soil samples should be taken from the ponds. Twelve samples should be collected from the ponds of one
    hectare or less and 25 samples from ponds of 2 to 20 hectares. Samples should be taken in the pond 5 cm from
    the top.

    (b) The composite soil sample is mixed thoroughly and spread in a thin layer to air dry. After drying, the sample is
    crushed gently into a powder and sieved through a screen with 0.85 mm openings. A p-nitrophenol buffer of pH
    0.8 + 0.1 is prepared by diluting 20 g p-nitrophenol, 15 g boric acid, 74 g potassium chloride, and 10.5 g
    potassium hydroxide to one liter with distilled water.

    Place 20 g of dry soil in a 100 ml beaker, add 20 ml of distilled water and stir periodically for one hour. Then
    measure the pH of the mud-distilled water mixture with a glass electrode pH meter. Add 20 ml of the p-nitrophenol
    buffer and stir periodically for 20 minutes. Set the pH meter at 8.0 by using a mixture of one part p-nitrophenol
    buffer and one part distilled water. Next read the pH of the sample (soil, distilled water, buffer mixture) while
    stirring vigorously. The pH value of the soil in water and the soil in buffer solution is used to obtain the lime
    requirement from the following table (Table C.1). If the pH of the soil in the buffered solution is below 7, repeat the
    analysis with 10 g of dry soil and double the amount of lime required given in the table (Boyd, 1976).

    Table C.1
    Lime requirement in kg/ha of calcium carbonate (neutralizing value of 100) to increase total hardness and
    total alkalinity of pond water above 20 mg/1 (after Boyd, 1976)

    Mud in buffered solution


    Mud pH 7.9 7.8 7.7 7.6 7.5 7.4 7.3 7.2 7.1 7.0
    in water (kg/ha of calcium carbonate required)
    5.7 121 242 363 484 605 726 847 968 1 089 1 210
    5.6 168 336 504 672 840 1 008 1 176 1 344 1 512 1 680
    5.5 269 538 806 1 075 1 344 1 613 1 881 2 150 2 419 2 688
    5.4 386 773 1 159 1 546 1 932 2 318 2 705 3 091 3 478 3 864
    5.3 454 907 1 361 1 814 2 268 2 722 3 175 3 629 4 082 4 536
    5.2 521 1 042 1 562 2 083 2 064 3 125 3 646 4 166 4 687 5 208
    5.1 588 1 176 1 764 2 353 2 940 3 528 4 116 4 704 5 292 5 880
    5.0 672 1 344 2 016 2 688 3 360 4 032 4 704 5 376 6 048 6 720
    4.9 874 1 747 2 621 3 494 4 368 5 242 6 115 6 989 7 974 8 736
    4.8 896 1 792 2 688 3 584 4 480 5 376 6 272 7 186 8 064 8 960
    4.7 941 1 882 2 822 3 763 4 704 5 645 6 586 7 526 8 467 9 408

    4.3 Drying and flushing acid sulfate soils with seawater

    This is one of the most promising methods of improving acid sulfate soil conditions. The acid formed through
    pyrite oxidation during drying is removed through a process of repeated flooding and draining of the ponds.

    4.4 Covering acid sulfate soil with suitable soil

    This is done to provide a non-acid substrate. An evaluation of the cost involved is necessary prior to the adoption
    of this method.

    3
    4.5 Appropriate water management

    Careful water management practices can improve acid sulfate soil conditions. Water in the ponds should be
    maintained at an equal level or higher than that of the adjacent canal to limit inflow through seepage.

    4.6 Control of dike soil erosion

    Dikes should be provided with vegetative cover such as the acid-resistant African star grass (Cynodon
    plectostachyus) and other Cynodon species such as the Bermuda grass.

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