SFS4

Location: Winchelsea

Australian Soil Classification: Endocalcareous-Endohypersodic, Self-Mulching, Black VERTOSOL

Site Description: Possible lunette on the edge of Lake Murdeduke. Southern Farming Systems (SFS) cropping trial site.


SFS4 Landscape

Soil Profile Morphology:

Surface Soil			SFS4 Profile
Ap	0-8/10 cm	Brown (10YR4/3); cracking in surface crust; light medium clay; strongly pedal; coarse rough faced peds; strong consistence dry; pH 6.4; abrupt change to:
Subsoil
B21	8/10 – 75 cm	Very dark grey (10YR3/1); light medium clay; irregular coarse prismatic structure; cracking evident; large slickensides (50 -100 mm in size); pH 7.6; clear change to:
B22ssk	75-95+ cm	Olive (5Y5/4); medium clay; lenticular structure; soft whitish carbonate present; large slickensides (>200 mm in size); pH 9.1.

• Surface cracking occurs when soil profile dries out.
• Clay texture throughout soil profile.
• Self-mulching surface condition.
• Vertic features (i.e. slickensides, lenticular peds) evident in subsoil.

The pH in the surface is slightly acid. The pH in the subsoil is slightly alkaline, becoming very strongly alkaline with depth.

The salinity rating is low in both the surface and upper subsoil. The salinity rating increases to medium - high in the deeper subsoil.

The surface is non sodic. The subsoil is sodic becoming strongly sodic with depth.

The clay content is moderate throughout the profile.

Horizon	Horizon Depth (cm)	pH (water)	pH (CaCl2)	EC dS/m	NaCl %	Exchangeable Cations
						Ca	Mg	K	Na
						meq/100g
Ap	0-8/10	6.4	5.7	0.16		10	8.4	1.3	0.7
B21ss	8/10-75	7.6	6.6	0.34	0.02	7	11	0.6	2.6
B22ssk	75-95+	9.1	8.4	0.98	0.07	8.8	25	0.7	11

Horizon	Horizon Depth (cm)	Exchangeable Aluminium mg/kg	Exchangeable Acidity meq/100g	Oxidisable Organic Carbon %	Total Nitrogen %	Field Capacity pF2.5	Wilting Point pF4.2	Coarse Sand (0.2-2.0 mm)	Fine Sand (0.02-0.2 mm)	Silt (0.002-0.02 mm)	Clay (<0.002 mm)
Ap	0-8/10		8.5	2.0	0.15	33.7	16.7	9	34	13	39
B21ss	8/10-75	<5	5.2			40.9	20.7	8	30	12	49
B22ssk	75-95+					54.8	29.7	3	21	15	58

• Plant available water capacity (PAWC) is considered to be medium (estimated at 109 mm) in the upper 75 cm of this soil profile. Effective rooting depth (ERD) is restricted to 75 cm due to the highly sodic subsoils (ESP>20).