A Review on the Tropical Peatland Characteristics Towards Sustainability of Peatland in Malaysia

The natural ecosystem is a dynamic relationship between living organisms and their environment. There are two types of ecosystems: natural and artificial ecosystems. Peatland is classified as a natural ecosystem. This review covers the trace and major elements, and the character of their accumulation in peat, with a particular emphasis on peat properties, conservation and restoration. Peatland is a valuable but vulnerable resource in the world, representing a valuable carbon pool and energy as a functional system while playing a main function in hydrological and biochemical cycles. Research in the characterization and data inventory of tropical peatlands is very important to determine the peatland’s status and identify the key knowledge gaps that need to be addressed. The results are important for the conservation, restoration and sustainability science of peatland areas through the characterization of the physical soil, nutrient content and carbon pool emission for the classification of peatland conservation status before development because the disturbance impact in peatland can be irreversible. The best use of peatland considers the trade-off between development and conservation. The increasing Malaysian population has increased land demand; large peatland areas in Malaysia have been slotted for other land uses. The expansion to other land uses will cause biodiversity to decline and carbon emissions to escape into the atmosphere during the process of either land-use change or a process that involves human and natural causes. The peatland environmental problems related to peatland drainage include water table imbalance and peat fires. However, a precise understanding of the ecological, hydrological, and biodiversity processes and interactions is fundamental to adequately restoring degraded peatlands, preserving the remaining areas, and understanding the management action, whether on a small or large scale. Therefore, this paper provides an overview of the Peatland status area in Malaysia with recommendations for conservation and restoration to avoid or reduce potential ecological and biodiversity impacts for sustainability science.