ABSTRACT
As mentioned before, peat and organic soils commonly occur as extremely soft, wet, unconsolidated surficial deposits that are integral parts of wetland systems. They may also occur as strata beneath other surficial deposits. These problematic soils are known for their high compressibility and low shear strength. Access to these surficial deposits is usually very difficult, as the water table will be at, near or above the ground surface. Undoubtedly, this is the cause of the tendency to either avoid construction and building on these soils, or when this is not possible, to simply remove, replace or displace them. In some instances this may lead to possibly uneconomical design and construction alternatives. However, in many countries this material covers a substantial area. The pressure on land use from industry, housing and infrastructure is leading to more frequent utilization of such marginal ground. It is therefore necessary to be able to obtain suitable design parameters for strength and compressibility, as well as to find suitable construction techniques on these materials.
