MIRI: Planting short term crops such as pineapples on peat soil can prevent peat fires from recurring in Kuala Baram, said Dr Lulie Melling, director of the Sarawak Tropical Peat Research Institute (Stropi).
Dr Lulie was interviewed after visiting the peat soil area in Kuala Baram yesterday.
The area has been badly burned by peat fires since early this month and efforts have been made to douse the fires which have caused the surrounding areas to be shrouded in smoke.
According to Lulie, peat soil is nutrient-rich but flammable when dry.
“We need a flexible approach to avoid this (peat fire recurrence) in the future, such as planting short term crops like pineapples.
“It is one of the best management practices, planting on the peat soil,” she explained.
Lulie spent nearly two hours at the site taking some samples of the peat soil.
Accompanying her was an officer from Miri Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba), Ahmad Nizam Sapaiee.
