Soil/Landform Unit 168

The broad hills crests and plains of the dissected plain has resulted in development for hills. Land is mainly used for cropping and grazing

Area:

3701 ha

0.28% of CMA region

The undulating low hills in the Maude and Moriac areas comprise predominantly Neogene unconsolidated sediments with woodland vegetation. These deeply weathered soils of the undulating low hills form part of the Western Plains. Soils are mainly brown texture contrast soils with occasional deep uniform sands. Surface soil horizons are naturally low in plant available nutrients and also have low water holding capacities. Most areas are cleared and support open woodlands (Plains Grassy Woodland and Grassy Woodland) dominated by

Eucalyptus leucoxylon

and

E. camaldulensis

. Other areas have been cleared for agricultural purposes including grazing and cropping. The main hazards to land use are leaching of nutrients and gully erosion.

The scarps and steep slopes that occur on the western boundary of the unit are composed of a source of geologies
	Potato crop at the base of Mount Duneed within this unit

Component	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Proportion of soil-landform unit	50%	8%	8%	4%	5%	14%	3%	8%
CLIMATE Rainfall (mm)	Annual: 590
Temperature (^oC)	Minimum 9, Maximum 19
Precipitation less than potential evapotranspiration	October-April
GEOLOGY Age and lithology	Neogene unconsolidated sediments			Quaternary basalt	Neogene unconsolidated sediments - gravel, sand and clay	Various Neogene Paleogene strata basalt, unconsolidated sediemnts (limestone, etc)	Ordovician slates and sandstones interbedded	Pleistocene basalt
Geomorphology	6.2.4 Plains, rises and low hills of the Sedimentary Western Plains
LANDUSE	Uncleared: Nature conservation; water supply Cleared: Cropping; beef and cattle grazing; low quality forestry; gravel extraction; town sites
TOPOGRAPHY Landscape	Undulating low hills
Elevation range (m)	8-193
Local relief (m)	12
Drainage pattern	Dendritic
Drainage density (km/km²)	0.7
Landform	Undulating plains			Scarp	Sides of the river valley	Sides of the river valley	Sides of the river valley	Long gentle slopes with stony rises
Landform element	Upper plain	Drainage line	Lower plain	Stony upper slope or crest	Upper slope or crest	Mid-slope	Lower slope	Slopes
Slope and range (%)	3 (2-5)	1 (1-2)	2 (1-5)	45 (20-60)	25 (10-50)	20 (10-50)	20 (10-50)	2 (1-3)
Slope shape	Straight	Concave	Straight	Convex to straight	Convex	Straight to concave	Straight to concave	Straight
NATIVE VEGETATION Structure	Plains Grassy Woodland (0.9%)				Grassy Woodland (0.7%)
Dominant species	E. camaldulensis	E. camaldulensis	E. leucoxylon, Acacia spp.	E. leucoxylon, E. camaldulensis	E. leucoxylon, E. camaldulensis	E. leucoxylon, E. camaldulensis	E. leuxocylon, E. melliodora, E. viminalis	E. leucoxylon
SOIL Parent material	Unconsolidated clay, silt, sand and gravel	Unconsolidated sediments and recent alluvial deposits	Unconsolidated clay, silt, sand and gravel	In situ weathered basalt	In situ unconsolidated sediments with some areas of colluvial basalt	In situ unconsolidated sediments and limestone, with colluvium from higher land. Some quartzite outcrops	In situ slates and sandstone with colluvium	In situ weathered rock
Description (Corangamite Soil Group)	Mottled brown, yellow and red texture contrast soil, both fine structured (13)	Mottled brown, grey or yellow texture contrast soils, fine structure (13)	Mottled brown, grey or yellow texture contrast soils, coarse structure (14)	Stony shallow brown clay soils (39)	Black clays (39) or brown, grey or yellow texture contrat soils (13)	Black clays (30) with some red gradational or texture contrast soils and some sandy areas - quartzite (29)	Mottled brown, grey or yellow tradational or texture contrast soils (25)	Mottled dark grey sodic texture contrast soils, coarse structure (35)
Soil type sites	SW67, CLRA3, OTR601	SW67, CLRA3, OTR601	SW99, SW93, OTR734	SFS2, SW101, SW89	SW67, CLRA3, SW101	CLRA6, CLRA13, OTR426	BD10, CLRA53, CLRA58	SW86, CLRA49, SW90
Surface texture	Fine sandy loam	Sandy loam	Sandy loam	Clay loam	Clay to clay loam	Mostly clay with some sandy areas	Fine sandy clay loam	Sandy loam
Permeability	Moderate	Moderate to low	Low	Moderate	Moderate to low	Moderate	Moderate to low	Moderate to low
Depth (m)	1.0-2.0	1.5-2.5	2	0.1-0.5	0.5-1.2	0.3-2.0	0.3-1.0	1.0-3.0
LAND CHARACTERISTICS, POTENTIAL AND LIMITATIONS	Hardsetting surface can cause overland flow and minor sheet erosion.	Seasonal high watertables along with periodic waterlogging and minor gully erosion are the main erosion issues.	Dispersible subsoils and overland flow/subsurface flow conribute to moderate gully erosion.	Steep slopes, undercutting, slumping and falling rocks are minor hazards.	Moderate to steep slopes with deep black clayey soils, are known to be of moderate slip hazard. Rilling on exposed soils also occurs.	Moderate to steep slopes with deep black clayey soils, are known to be of moderate slip hazard. Rilling on exposed soils also occurs.	Moderate to steep slopes with deep black clayey soils, are known to be of moderate slip hazard. Rilling on exposed soils also occurs	Hardsetting surfaces and slowly permeable subsoils contribute to overland flow. Periodic waterlogging and soil compaction is an issue.

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