Soil/Landform Unit 6

The 80% uncleared forested Brisbane Ranges comrpise most of this unit with a wide range of vegetation communities

Area:

6026 ha

0.45% of CMA region

Rolling hills on sedimentary sediments occur as the Brisbane Ranges on the eastern boundary of the Corangamite catchment. A rich diversity of vegetation comprising 80% of this unit include the communities of Heathy Dry Forest, Grassy Dry Forest, Lowland Forest, Valley Grassy Forest, Shrubby Woodland and Creekline Herb-rich Woodland. The dominant species of these vegetation groups are

Eucalyptus obliqua, E. ovata, E. radiata

and

E. viminalis.

The steep and rocky nature of the terrain, low fertility and low water holding capacity of the soils have discouraged further clearing, except on some of the gentler, lower slopes that support native pastures. The forest in the past has provided sawn timber, posts and firewood. Soils include an association of acidic mottled texture contrast soils with structured or massive subsoils. These relatively shallow stony soils are prone to sheet erosion, while the deeper soils in the drainage depression suffer from gully erosion and soil salting.

Steeply dissected terrain is often vegetated, however areas are particularly vulnerable to erosion
	Cleared land is mainly used for grazing

Component	1	2	3	4
Proportion of soil-landform unit	2%	50%	3%	45%
CLIMATE Rainfall (mm)	Annual: 660
Temperature (^oC)	Minimum 8, Maximum 8
Precipitation less than potential evapotranspiration	October-March
GEOLOGY Age and lithology	Ordovician marine shale and sandstone, Neogene fluvio-marine clay, sand and gravel
Geomorphology	2.1.1 Dissected Western Uplands associated with Palaeozoic sedimentary and metamorphic rocks
LANDUSE	Uncleared: Water supply; nature conservation; hardwood; gravel extraction Cleared: Sheep and beef cattle grazing; cropping (cereal); gravel extraction
TOPOGRAPHY Landscape	Rolling hills
Elevation range (m)	130-363
Local relief (m)	65
Drainage pattern	Dendritic
Drainage density (km/km²)	4.8
Landform	Hill
Landform element	Moist protected slopes	Dry exposed slopes	Drainage line	Crest
Slope and range (%)	15 (10-30)	15 (10-30)	3 (1-4)	3 (1-6)
Slope shape	Straight	Straight	Concave	Convex
NATIVE VEGETATION Ecological Vegetation Class	Heathy Dry Forest (34.2%), Grassy Dry Forest (24.0%), Lowland Forest (8.2%), Valley Grassy Forest (3.6%), Shrubby Woodland (3.3%), Creekline Herb-rich Woodland (3.0%)
NATIVE VEGETATION Ecological Vegetation Class
Dominant species	E. obliqua, E. ovata, E. radiata, E. viminalis	E. obliqua, E. dives, E. radiata, E. viminalis	E. ovata, E. radiata, E. viminalis	E. obliqua, E. dives, E. radiata, E. viminalis
SOIL Parent material	In situ weathered sandstone and shale	In situ weathered sandstone and shale	Alluvium, clay, silt, sand, gravel	In situ weathered sandstone and shale, unconsolidated sediments
SOIL Parent material	In situ weathered sandstone and shale	In situ weathered sandstone and shale	Alluvium, clay, silt, sand, gravel
Description (Corangamite Soil Group)	Red mottled brown, grey or yellow gradational or texture contrast soils, fine structure (25/26)	Red mottled browy, grey or yellow gradational or texture contrast soils, fine strucuture (25/26)	Black gradational soil - variable (34)	Shallow stony red and bronw, grey or yellow gradational soil (25)
Soil type sites	CLRA53, BD10, BD13	CRLA53, BD10, BD13	CLRA1, OTR733	CLRA53, CLRA58, BD10
Surface texture	Fine sandy loam	Fine sandy loam	Clay loam	Gravelly loam
Permeability	High	High	Moderate to low	High
Depth (m)	1	2	>1	0.5
LAND CHARACTERISTICS, POTENTIAL AND LIMITATIONS	Steep slopes and hardsetting surfaces result in significant overland flow. Sheet and rill erosion also occur from this overland flow.	Steep slopes and hardsetting surfaces result in significant overland flow. Sheet and rill erosion also occur from this overland flow. Soil compaction is also a limitation for soils with shallow topsoils.	Moderate permeability subsoils and hardsetting surfaces result in significant overland flow. Sheet and rill erosion also occur from this overland flow. Soil compaction is also a limitation for soils with shallow topsoils.	Moderate slopes and hardsetting surfaces result in significant overland flow. Sheet and rill erosion also occur from this overland flow. Soil compaction is also a limitation for soils with shallow topsoils.

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