What is Peat swamp forest?
[[File:Borneo fires and smoke, 2002.jpg|thumb|right|Satellite image of the island of Borneo on 19 August 2002, showing smoke from burning peat swamp forests]] '''Peat swamp forests''' are [[forest]] [[wetlands]] in [[tropical]] and subtropical areas. They have poor drainage. Waterlogged soil prevents dead leaves and wood from decomposing fully. Over time, this creates a thick layer of acidic [[peat]]. They are made up of trees which are broadleaved (not [[conifers]]), and many other types of [[flowering plants]]. Peat swamp forests are usually surrounded by lowland [[rain forests]] on better-drained soils. There may be [[brackish]] or salt-water [[mangrove|mangrove forests]] near the [[coast]]. These tropical swamp forests are quite different from the north [[temperate]] peat [[bogs]] in climates such as in [[Ireland]]. Temperate peat bogs are not caused by forests, but mostly by [[mosses]] such as ''[[Sphagnum]]'', [[grasses]], [[sedges]] and [[shrubs]]. ==Ecology== [[File:2007-09-20-57-kalimantan-foresta.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Peat swamp forest in Kalimantan]] About 62% of the world’s tropical peat lands are in [[southeast Asia]]. In this area 80% is in [[Indonesia]], 11% in [[Malaysia]], 6% in [[Papua New Guinea]], with pockets in [[Brunei]], [[Vietnam]], the [[Philippines]], and [[Thailand]].<ref>Rieley J.O; Ahmad-Shah A.A. & Brady M.A. 1996. The extent and nature of tropical peat swamps. In: Maltby E ''et al'' (eds) ''Tropical lowland peatlands of Southeast Asia'', proceedings of a workshop on integrated planning and management of tropical lowland peatlands held at Cisarua, Indonesia, 3–8 July 1992. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.</ref><ref>Page S.E; Rieley J.O. & Wüst R. 2006. Lowland tropical peatlands of southeast Asia. In: Martini I.P. ''et al'' (eds) ''Peatlands: evolution and records of environmental and climate changes''. Elsevier B.V. pp 145-172.</ref> They have trees up to 70 m high. The spongy, unstable, waterlogged, [[anaerobic]] beds of peat can be up to 20 m deep with low pH (pH 2.9 – 4) and low