Traditionally, up to early 20th Century, scientists do not believe that peat can occur in tropical regions, as the high temperature means decomposition will be faster than organic matter production. Plant geographers said that peat cannot form in tropical environment below an elevation of 1100 m. Even ECJ Mohr in his 1920 book “The Soil of Java and Sumatra” stated that peat could not be expected to develop.
Wichmann in 1909 in the Proceedings of the Royal Academy at Amsterdam on “The Peats of the Netherlands Indies Archipelago” provides a review of peats occurring on Java and the Outer Islands. Wichmann had already pointed to the occurrence of tens of thousands of acres.
WICHMANN, C. E. A., 1909. De veenen in den Indischen Archipel. Versl. Gew. Verg. Wis.-Nat. Afd. Kon. Akad. Wet. Amsterdam, 18, I : 5—9
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