Marong map unit Osd

Back to: A Land Capability Study of the Rural City of Marong

Map Unit:	Ordovcian sediments, gentle crest	Map Unit Symbol:	Osd
		% of Study Area:	2.5

Land-form diagram for Marong map unit Osd

General Description:
The soils on the sedimentary crests are dominantly yellow duplex with hardsetting fine sandy loam top soils, bleached, hardsetting A2 horizons and bright brown medium clay subsoils. Angular sedimentary fragments are common throughout the profile. A common variation of this soil type is the presence of a red clay subsoil. Along the centre of higher altitude crests bedrock is close to the surface and even outcrops. The shallow gravelly barns associated with the bedrock run in narrow bands.

Site characteristics:

Parent material age:	Ordovician	Depth seasonal watertable:	> 5 m
Lithology:	Sediments	Potential recharge to groundwater:	Moderate
Landform Pattern:	Undulating low hils	Flooding risk:	Nil
Element:	Crests	Drainage:	Well drained
Slope common:	< 1 %	Depth to hardrock:	0.5 m
Slope range:	0 - 1%
Rock outcrop:	0%

Major vegetation: Grey Box, Yellow Box, Yellow Gum, Red Ironbark, Golden Wattle, Buloke, Spreading Wattle, Cat's Claw Grevillea, Black-anther Flax-lily, Wallaby Grass

Present land use: Native forest, grazing, residential (major), cropping (minor)

Land degradation:	Water erosion		Wind erosion	Salting	Acidification
Land degradation:	Sheet/rill	Gully	Wind erosion	Salting	Acidification
Susceptibility	Moderate	Low	Low	Low	Low
Incidence	Moderate	Low	Low	Low	Low

Soil profile characteristics:

Permeability (measured - average, range):	1330, 380 - 2144 mm/day
Permeability (estimated):	-
Available water capacity:	79 mm H₂O
Linear shrinkage (B horizon):	4.7%

Soil profile description:

A1	0-8 cm	Hardsetting greyish brown (7.5YR4/2) loam fine sandy, weak structure, subangular blocky peds 5-10 mm, smooth fabric, moderately weak consistence, very few organic segregations, common angular sedimentary gravel fragments, moderate organic matter, pH 4.7. Abrupt transition to
A2	8-18 cm	Hardsetting orange (5YR6/6) loam fine sandy, sporadically bleached when dry, weak structure, angular blocky peds 5-10 mm, smooth fabric, moderately firm consistence, a few organic segregations throughout, common angular coarse sedimentary gravel, pH 4.7. Clear transition to
B21	18-37 cm	Bright brown (2.5YR5/6) light day, moderate structure, subangular blocky peds 5-10 mm, smooth fabric, moderately firm consistence, 2-10% organic segregations, common angular coarse sedimentary gravel, pH 4.8. Clear transition to
B22	37-50 cm	Bright brown (2.5YR5/6) light medium clay, a few faint fine orange mottles, moderate structure, subangular block peds 5-10 mm, smooth fabric, moderately firm consistence, less than 2% organic segregations, common angular coarse sedimentary gravel, pH 5.3. Sharp transition to
C	50 cm	Rock

Soil classification:

Factual Key (Northcote):	Dy2.41 (major) Dr2.31 /3 (minor)
Australian Soil Classification:	Haplic, Magnesic, Red, Kurosol; moderate, medium,loamy, gravelly
Unified Soil Group:	ML

Interpretation of soil analyses*

Horizon	pH	Gravel %	E.C. (salts)	Nutrient Status	P	K	Al	Organic Matter	Dispersibility
A1	4.7**	30.1	VL	VL	D	S	T	H	L
A2	4.7**	31	VL	VL	D	D	T	H	H
B21	4.8**	26.9	L	VL	D	D	T	M	H
B22	5.3	22.7	L	L	D	D	T	M	VH

VL : Very Low; L : Low; M : Moderate; H : High; VH : Very High; D : Deficient; S : Satisfactory; T : Toxic; **: Acid * See Appendix 4 for analytical results

Land capability assessment

Land Use	Class	Major limiting feature(s)/ landuse
Agriculture (CTS values)	C3T1S4	Shallow depth to hard rock, low available water capacity
Effluent disposal (septic tanks)	4	Shallow depth to hard rock, very rapid permeability – risk of polluting groundwater
Farm dams (earthen)	5	Shallow depth to hardrock, very low suitability of subsoil, very rapid permeability, very dispersible subsoil
Building foundations - slab	3	Shallow depth to hardrock
Building foundations - stumps/footings	3	Shallow depth to hardrock
Secondary roads	4	Universal Soil Group
Urban residential	4	Secondary roads
Rural residential	5	Farm dams

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