A heath forest is a rather dessicated primary forest that occurs on poor sandy soil in Thailand, Malaya, Banka and Borneo, where it is known as Mattang to Malays and Kerangas to Dayaks. The removal of the oxides of iron and aluminium from the soil leaves the silica and creates a podsol. The bleached sand of the heath forest resembles the temperate podsol. See also "Palynology; beach forest environment".