ABSTRACT

Soil is a mixture of minerals, organic matter, gases, liquids, and some microorganisms. This chapter encompasses the major soil types in Malaysia and their classification. Generally, there are three main soil groups in Malaysia: residual soils of granite, residual soils of sedimentary rock, and coastal alluvial soils. Residual soils are formed from the weathering process of rocks. Granitic soils covered a large area of Peninsular Malaysia especially the hillside and mountain ranges. Granitic soils generally contain high sand content with low water content. Alluvial soils are also known as fluvial soils or alluvium. These soils are transported to their present position by rivers and streams. In Malaysia, peat has been classified as one of the major soil group. Peat covers approximately 8" of the land or about 3 million ha. Malaysia does not use agroecological zones (AEZs) to plan for crop production. Instead, they are based on state or regional classifications.