Assessment of Soil Degradation for Biomass Production in Tanjungpinang, Indonesia

Abstract

Land management, especially land that is not in accordance with the rules can cause damage/change in soil properties which in turn impacts the disruption of biomass production. The lack of available data regarding soil degradation, especially in Tanjungpinang City, has resulted in less than optimal supervision and control over land management. Mapping the condition of soil degradation is necessary to exercise control over land management. The purpose of this research is to assess soil degradation in Tanjungpinang City, Riau Archipelago for biomass production. Soil degradation can be modeled by scoring and overlaying four parameters, namely land use, slope, soil type, and rainfall, producing a tentative map of potential soil degradation. Next, a tentative map of soil degradation is corrected using a field survey. Field surveys are used to measure the standard criteria for soil degradation according to Government Regulation No. 150 of 2000. The results show that the criteria for soil degradation in Tanjungpinang City are light damage and moderate damage. The criteria for moderate damage have the largest area spread over Dompak Sub-District, Batu Sembilan, Melayu City Plate, Bukit Cermin, West Tanjungpinang, East Tanjungpinang, Kampung Baru, and Tanjung Ayun Sakti. The main limiting factors that limit land use in Tanjungpinang City are permeability, surface rocks, and redox.