Soil/Landform Unit 27

Undulating low hills and plains north-west of Meredith

Area:

3209 ha

0.24% of CMA region

The undulating low hills in the area of the Bamganie State Forest near Meredith are composed of Neogene fluvio-marine sand, and

Ordovician

marine sandstone and shale. The hillslopes support a wide range of vegetation classes including Creekline Herbrich Woodland, Lowland Forest and Grassy Dry Forest. Dominant species are

Eucalyptus viminalis, E. obliqua, E. radiata, E. rubidia, E. ovata

and

E. pauciflora.

The low fertility and the low water holding capacity of the soils have discouraged further clearing, except on some of the gentler, lower slopes that support native pastures. Soils include an association of sandy

mottled

texture contrast soils with structured or

massive

subsoils that occur on the hillslopes with sandy equivalents occurring on upper slopes. These soils can be prone to gully erosion which is minor to moderate in severity in some cleared areas.

Plains leading to remnant vegetation lining Woodburne
	Cultivated plains near Woodbourne

Component	1	2	3	4
Proportion of soil-landform unit	70%	2%	15%	13%
CLIMATE Rainfall (mm)	Annual: 670
Temperature (^oC)	Minimum 8, Maximum 18
Precipitation less than potential evapotranspiration	October-March
GEOLOGY Age and lithology	Neogene fluvio-marine sand, Ordovician marine sandstone and shale
Geomorphology	2.1.3 Dissected Western Uplands associated with Cainozoic gravel and sediments
LANDUSE	Uncleared: Nature conservation; firewood and sawlogs
TOPOGRAPHY Landscape	Cleared: Grazing; gravel extraction; mining
Elevation range (m)	Plains
Local relief (m)	236-371
Drainage pattern	3
Drainage density (km/km²)	Dendritic
Landform	0.8
Landform element	Undulating plains		Flat plains	Drainage lines
Slope and range (%)	Well drained non-sandy areas	Patches of deep sandy soil	Poorly drained non-sandy areas	Low-lying areas
Slope shape	1 (1-3)	1 (1-3)	0 (0-2)	1 (1-3)
NATIVE VEGETATION Ecological Vegetation Class	Creekline Herb-rich Woodland (3.5%), Lowland Forest (3.5%), Grassy Dry Forest (3.4%)
Dominant species	E. viminalis, E. obliqua, E. rubidia, E. ovata, E. pauciflora	Pteridium esculentum, E. viminalis	E. ovata	E. ovata
SOIL Parent material	Unconsolidated gravel, sand and clay	Unconsolidated sand	Unconsolidated gravel, sand and clay	Unconsolidated gravel, sand and clay
Description (Corangamite Soil Group)	Red mottled, brown, grey or yellow texture contrast soil, fine structure (13/15)	Yellow sand soil (16)	Brown, grey or yellow sodic texture contrast soil, coarse structure (14)	Mottled brown, grey or yellow texture contrast soil (33)
Soil type sites	SW67, CLRA3, SW63	SW63, SW70	SW99, SW93, MM204	SW38, SW2, SW67
Surface texture	Sandy clay loam to loamy sand	Sand	Clay loam	Clay loam, sandy clay loam
Permeability	Moderate	High	Low	Moderate
Depth (m)	2	2	2	2
LAND CHARACTERISTICS, POTENTIAL AND LIMITATIONS	Hardsetting surfaces result in significant overland flow. Sheet and rill erosion also occur from this overland flow with leaching of salts. Gully erosion occurs mainly where sodic subsoils are exposed.	Low water and nutrient holding capacity lead to fertility decline.	Hardsetting surfaces result in significant overland flow. Sheet and rill erosion also occur from this overland flow with leaching of salts. Gully erosion occurs mainly where sodic subsoils are exposed.	Hardsetting surfaces result in significant overland flow. Sheet and rill erosion also occur from this overland flow with leaching of salts. Gully erosion occurs mainly where sodic subsoils are exposed. Salting occurs especially when adjacent to Ordovician sediments

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