GL110

Site: GL110	Land Unit: Merino Tablelands
*Aust. Soil Class.:* Episodic, Epipedal, Grey VERTOSOL (confidence level 1)

Soil pit GL110 landscape

Soil pit GL110 auger

General Land Unit Description:
This unit consists of the Cretaceous non-marine sandstone of the dissected Merino Tablelands. The tablelands were thought to have formed under swamp conditions and a warm climate. As a result, the soils tend to be high in clay and there tends to be carbon rich seams of charcoal deposits at depth in some of the profiles. The main soil type used to represent this land unit is black cracking clays (Vertosols) that can be sodic at depth. This soil type, along with Black Sodosols, Chromosols and Dermosols, are commonly found in the broad crests or drainage lines. The slopes often consist of Brown Chromosols, Sodosols or Dermosols, although black soils can also occur on the slopes. The lower slopes commonly have Grey Vertosols or Sodosols as the major soil type. The reasonably deep sodic soils on short steep slopes tend to be prone to landslips. The grey soils, in particular are prone to water erosion.

Site Description:

Slope: 1%	Geology: Cretaceous non-marine sandstone
Landform pattern: Rolling rises and undulating low hills	Position in landscape: Upper slope
Internal drainage: Imperfectly drained

Soil Profile Morphology

A1	0-15 cm	Black (10YR2/1) light clay, strong subangular blocky structure (5-10 mm), firm consistence when dry, pH 6.0; clear transition to:
	Subsoil
B21	15-50 cm	Very dark brown (10YR2/1), medium heavy clay, strong lenticular structure (20-50 mm), strong consistence when dry to moderately moist, pH 6.4; gradual transition to:
B22	50-70 cm	Black (10YR2/1), heavy clay, strong subangular blocky structure (2-5 mm), strong consistence when moderately moist, pH 8.3; gradual transition to:
B23	70-85 cm	Dark greyish brown (10YR4/2), heavy clay, strong subangular blocky structure (2-5 mm), strong consistence when moderately moist, pH 9.0; transition to:
B3	85-115 cm	Brown (10YR4/3), medium clay, fine sandy, medium subangular blocky structure (5-10 mm), strong consistence when moderately moist, pH 9.0; transition to:
C	115-200 cm	Light olive brown (2.5Y5/3), sand, massive structure, loose consistence when dry.

Key profile features:

Alkaline subsoil
Sodic subsoil
Topsoil dispersive when worked when wet
Subsoil dispersive when dry

Page top