GL174

Site: GL174	Land Unit: Ararat Granite
*Aust. Soil Class.:* Vertic, Mottled-Subnatric, Grey SODOSOL (confidence level 1)

General Land Unit Description:
This land unit consists of granitic hills and rises around Ararat. Granitic tors are common on the crests and at the break of slope in some areas. Landslips are evident on the steeper slopes. The dominant soil type is a Grey Sodosol (similar to this site), often found on the lower slopes, similar to this site. Chromosols are more likely to occur on the crests and steeper slopes. The major limitation for land use at this site is the rock outcrop that commonly occurs at the break of slope, and the relatively shallow soil depth.

Site Description:

Slope: 10%	Geology: Ordovician Granodiorite
Landform pattern: Rises	Position in landscape: Mid-slope
Internal drainage: Imperfectly drained

Soil Profile Morphology

A1	0-20 cm	Very dark greyish brown (10YR3/2) sandy loam, weak subangular structure (5-10 mm), consistence weak to firm when dry pH 5.3; abrupt but wavy transition to:
A2	20-40 cm	Yellowish brown (10YR5/4) loamy sand, conspicuously bleached (10YR7/2) when dry, massive structure, weak to strong consistence when dry pH 6.1; transition to:
	Subsoil
B2	40-70 cm	Dark greyish brown (10YR4/2) heavy clay, many distinct strong brown (7.5YR5/6) and yellowish red (5YR5/8) mottles, strong prismatic (50-100 mm) to strong angular blocky structure (20-50 mm), many slickensides, pH 7.4; transition to:
C	70-120+ cm

Key profile features:

Strong texture contrast between topsoil and subsoil
Acidic topsoil
Sodic subsoil
Mottled subsoil
Subsoil dispersive when worked when wet

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