Chemical properties of forest soils developed on sedimentary rocks in Bintuni Bay, West Papua, Indonesia

Agricultural development in Bintuni Bay requires detail information of soil properties, however, current data is inadequate. To provide the information on soil chemical properties in its ​​coastal sediment area, we surveyed landform and soil morphology of Aroba and Sumuri Districts, each of ​​200 ha. The forest land in Aroba was composed of thick mudstone (claystone) with some inserts of sandstones, while that of Sumuri was dominated by sandstone with insert of mudstone and some lenses of conglomerates. The soils showed variation of pH, CEC, exchangeable bases, Organic-C, total-N, and available P in a relatively narrow area. The CEC value was positively correlated with clay content and total organic carbon. There were also variation of soil forming materials and serial processes of transportation, deposition, denudation, and pedogenesis that occurred in the studied lands.