Serpentine Soils, Adverse Habitat for Plants Case Study at Peninsular

The unpleasant effect of serpentine soil on plant life has been a topic of many studies for several decades. Infertility and flora selectivity nature of serpentine soils are the features, which made them of interest throughout the world. This research includes a geochemical study on two Malaysian...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tashakor, Mahsa, Wan Yaacob, Wan Zuhairi, Mohamad, Hamzah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Science Publication 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eprints.usm.my/37751/
http://eprints.usm.my/37751/1/PDF2Fajessp.2013.82.872.pdf
_version_ 1848878278080724992
author Tashakor, Mahsa
Wan Yaacob, Wan Zuhairi
Mohamad, Hamzah
author_facet Tashakor, Mahsa
Wan Yaacob, Wan Zuhairi
Mohamad, Hamzah
author_sort Tashakor, Mahsa
building USM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The unpleasant effect of serpentine soil on plant life has been a topic of many studies for several decades. Infertility and flora selectivity nature of serpentine soils are the features, which made them of interest throughout the world. This research includes a geochemical study on two Malaysian serpentine massifs to introduce their harmful factors concerning vegetation. X-ray fluorescence results on 11 soil samples showed that serpentine soils comprise large values of iron and magnesium (up to 55 wt and 65 wt% respectively) and high amounts of some heavy metals like chromium (1248-18990 μg g-1), nickel (189-1692 μg g-1) and cobalt (95-478 μg g-1). However, soil extraction by ammonium acetate solution revealed that only magnesium is plant available. Besides, serpentine soils are poor in some major plant nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. This substantial paucity is the main cause of bareness in these lands. Soils in the studied areas are moderately acidic and have the adequate cation holding capacity. Their Ca/Mg quotient is very low (less than 1). The latter with the low availability of the calcium (0.34 m-equiv 100 g-1 in average) is another challenging parameter in serpentine soils, which exerts negative influence on plant growing.
first_indexed 2025-11-15T17:28:47Z
format Article
id usm-37751
institution Universiti Sains Malaysia
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-15T17:28:47Z
publishDate 2013
publisher Science Publication
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling usm-377512017-12-05T09:31:30Z http://eprints.usm.my/37751/ Serpentine Soils, Adverse Habitat for Plants Case Study at Peninsular Tashakor, Mahsa Wan Yaacob, Wan Zuhairi Mohamad, Hamzah CC Archaeology The unpleasant effect of serpentine soil on plant life has been a topic of many studies for several decades. Infertility and flora selectivity nature of serpentine soils are the features, which made them of interest throughout the world. This research includes a geochemical study on two Malaysian serpentine massifs to introduce their harmful factors concerning vegetation. X-ray fluorescence results on 11 soil samples showed that serpentine soils comprise large values of iron and magnesium (up to 55 wt and 65 wt% respectively) and high amounts of some heavy metals like chromium (1248-18990 μg g-1), nickel (189-1692 μg g-1) and cobalt (95-478 μg g-1). However, soil extraction by ammonium acetate solution revealed that only magnesium is plant available. Besides, serpentine soils are poor in some major plant nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. This substantial paucity is the main cause of bareness in these lands. Soils in the studied areas are moderately acidic and have the adequate cation holding capacity. Their Ca/Mg quotient is very low (less than 1). The latter with the low availability of the calcium (0.34 m-equiv 100 g-1 in average) is another challenging parameter in serpentine soils, which exerts negative influence on plant growing. Science Publication 2013 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by http://eprints.usm.my/37751/1/PDF2Fajessp.2013.82.872.pdf Tashakor, Mahsa and Wan Yaacob, Wan Zuhairi and Mohamad, Hamzah (2013) Serpentine Soils, Adverse Habitat for Plants Case Study at Peninsular. American Journal of Environmental Sciences , 9 (1). pp. 82-87. ISSN 1553-345X http://thescipub.com/abstract/10.3844/ajessp.2013.82.87
spellingShingle CC Archaeology
Tashakor, Mahsa
Wan Yaacob, Wan Zuhairi
Mohamad, Hamzah
Serpentine Soils, Adverse Habitat for Plants Case Study at Peninsular
title Serpentine Soils, Adverse Habitat for Plants Case Study at Peninsular
title_full Serpentine Soils, Adverse Habitat for Plants Case Study at Peninsular
title_fullStr Serpentine Soils, Adverse Habitat for Plants Case Study at Peninsular
title_full_unstemmed Serpentine Soils, Adverse Habitat for Plants Case Study at Peninsular
title_short Serpentine Soils, Adverse Habitat for Plants Case Study at Peninsular
title_sort serpentine soils, adverse habitat for plants case study at peninsular
topic CC Archaeology
url http://eprints.usm.my/37751/
http://eprints.usm.my/37751/
http://eprints.usm.my/37751/1/PDF2Fajessp.2013.82.872.pdf