| Abstract: | The soils on the southeastern coastal plain of Palawan, Philippines are developed on alluvium derived from various lithologies of the Palawan Ophiolitic Complex. There is little lateral mixing of the alluvium. The soil pattern is interpreted as the result of increasing weathering and leaching with age on deposits of different lithological origins. In the ultramafic catchment the younger soils are infertile due to several unfavourable characteristics, including high contents of heavy metals and Mg, deficiencies of P and micro‐nutrients, and impermeability. These soils improve with increased weathering and leaching, and the older soils have better physical and Mg characteristics. In felsic alluvia the reverse is found, and the soils on younger deposits are the most fertile, while the older soils have unfavourable combinations of subsoil compaction, acidity and dominance by aluminium. These patterns are reflected in the current land use, with areas of sparse settlement and cultivation on the less fertile soils on younger ultramafic and older felsic alluvia. These areas have been avoided or abandoned, rather than overlooked, by farmers and cannot be considered as “empty lands”. Their sustainable development will require careful management. Most of the more fertile land is already cultivated. |
