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SW92

Location: Batesford

Australian Soil Classification: Vertic, Calcic (& Sodic), Black DERMOSOL (shallow profile depth)

General Landscape Description: Gently undulating plain.
Site Description: Flat
Geology: Quaternary Basalt - Newer volcanics


Soil Profile Morphology:


Surface Soil


A10-10 cmVery dark grayish brown (10YR3/2 moist and 10YR4/2 dry); fine sandy clay loam; cracking hard surface crust, possibly weak self-mulching; firm consistence dry; pH 6.2; gradual change to:
South West Gasp Pipeline SW92 Profile
SW92 Profile - Note: Surface (A1) horizon has been stripped from soil profile.
Subsoil
B2110-40 cmVery dark grey (10YR3/1 moist); medium heavy clay; coarse polyhedral (20-50 mm) to prismatic structure (defined by larger cracking pattern); rough-faced peds; pH 8.0; clear change to:
B2240-60 cmBrown (10YR4/3 moist); heavy clay; polyhedral structure; weakly vertic; small (<20 mm) slickensides; pH 8.9; clear change to:
B23k/R60 cm+Grayish brown (10YR5/2 moist); clay; soft, very pale brown (10YR8/2 moist) carbonate; rounded weathered hard fractured basalt; pH 9.0.

Key Profile Features:
  • Shallow surface (A1) horizon).
  • Gradual texture change from surface (A) horizon to subsoil (B21) horizon.
  • Shallow to moderate soil depth (overlying fractured weathered basalt).

Soil Profile Characteristics:

pH
Salinity Rating
Surface
(A1 horizon)
Slightly Acid
Low
Non-Sodic
None1
Subsoil
(B21 horizon)
Moderately Alkaline
Low-Medium
Strongly Sodic
Strong-Complete
Deeper Subsoil
(at 70-80 cm)
Strongly Alkaline
Extremely High
Strongly Sodic
None2
1 Strong dispersion after remoulding.
2 Probably due to high levels of soluble salts.

Image: SW92 Graphs
The surface is slightly acid. The subsoil is moderately alkaline becoming strongly alkaline at depth.Salinity rating is low in the surface and upper subsoil becoming extremely high in the deeper subsoil.The soil is non sodic in the surface and strongly sodic in the subsoil.The clay content increases gradually down the profile.

Horizon
Sample Depth
(cm)
pH
(water)
pH
(CaCl2)
EC
1:5
NaCl
%
Exchangeable Cations
Ca
Mg
K
Na
meq/100g
A1
0-5
6.2
5.5
0.15
7.1
6.6
0.84
0.77
B21
10-40
8
7
0.33
0.05
3
13
0.8
4.5
B22
40-60
8.9
8.3
0.85
0.16
7
19
1
8
B23k/r
70-80
9
8.6
1.7
0.33
5.8
21
0.8
11

Horizon
Sample Depth
(cm)
Organic Carbon
%
Nitrogen
%
Exchangeable Acidity
meq/100g
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)
A1
0-5
2.6
0.22
8.7
32
14.4
9
38
18
29
B21
10-40
48.6
24
7
29
12
47
B22
40-60
54.4
27.5
6
21
12
56
B23k/r
70-80
60.7
31.5



Profile Described By: Richard McEwan (March 1999).

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