Marong Map unit Tsf2

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

Map Unit:	Tertiary sediments, very gentle slope, 2	Map Unit Symbol:	Tsf2
		% of Study Area:	0.3

Land-form diagram for Marong map unit Tsf2

General Description:
The Tertiary sediment soils at Epsom represent only a small area of the Rural City. They are yellow duplex soils with fine sandy loam topsoils, sporadically bleached hardsetting A2 horizons and yellow light clay subsoils with abundant red mottles. Ironstone and quartz gravels occur throughout the profile. The soils in the minor drainage lines were not sampled or delineated because of their similarity to those of the very gentle slopes.

Site characteristics:

Parent material age:	Tertiary	Depth seasonal watertable:	< 2 m
Lithology:	Sediments	Potential recharge to groundwater:	Low
Landform Pattern:	Gently undulating rises	Flooding risk:	Nil
Element:	Slope	Drainage:	Moderately well drained
Slope common:	2%	Depth to hardrock:	0.8m
Slope range:	1 - 3%
Rock outcrop:	0%

Major vegetation: Grey Box, Yellow Gum, River Red Gum, Round-leaf Wattle, Whirrakee Wattle, Peppercorn, Drooping Cassinia, Dogwood, Spear Grass, Buckshorn Plantain,Wallaby Grass, Spiny Rush, Capeweed, rushes

Present land use: Grazing (major), residential (minor)

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

Soil profile characteristics:

Permeability (measured - average, range):	29, 7 - 70 mm/day
Permeability (estimated):	-
Available water capacity:	115 mm H₂O
Linear shrinkage (B horizon):	9.8 %

Soil profile description:

A1	0 - 8 cm	Greyish brown (7.5YR4.2) fine sandy loam, moderate structure, subangular blocky peds 1-2 mm, smooth fabric, moderately weak consistence, less than 2 % medium sized subangular quartz, ferruginous and lateritic gravel fragments, high organic matter, pH 5.4. Clear transition to
A2	8 - 17 cm	Dull yellow orange (10YR6/3) hardsetting fine sandy loam, sporadically bleached (10YR7/4) when dry, many distinct medium sized orange and brownish grey mottles, massive structure, earthy fabric, very strong consistence, less than 2 % charcoal segregations, common medium sized subangular quartz, ferruginous and lateritic gravel fragments, pH 5.0. Clear transition to
B21	17 - 30.5 cm	Greyish yellow brown (10YR5/2) light clay with some sand particles, abundant medium sized distinct reddish brown mottles, moderate structure, subangular blocky peds 10-20 mm, smooth fabric, moderately firm consistence, less than 2 % charcoal segregations, a few medium sized subrounded quartz, ferruginous and lateritic gravel fragments, pH 5.8. Clear transition to
B22	30.5 - 80 cm	Dull brown (7.5YR5/4) light day with some sand particles, abundant medium sized distinct orange, yellow and red mottles, moderate structure, angular blocky peds 10-20 mm, smooth fabric, very strong consistence, a few charcoal segregations, medium sized subrounded quartz, ferruginous and lateritic gravel fragments, pH 8.0. Clear transition to
C	80 cm	Rock

Soil classification:

Factual Key (Northcote):	Dy 3.33
Australian Soil Classification:	Mottled, Eutrophic, Grey, Chromosol; moderate, medium, loamy, non-gravelly
Unified Soil Group:	ML

Interpretation of soil analyses*

Horizon	pH	Gravel %	E.C. (salts)	Nutrient Status	P	K	Al	Organic Matter	Dispersibility
A1	5.4**	4.9	VL	L	D	S	T	H	L
A2	5.4**	9.3	VL	L	D	D	T	H	M
B21	5.8	11.1	VL	M	D	S	S	L	VH
B22	8.0	9.5	M	M	D	S	S	L	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)	C₃T₂S₄	Shallow depth to hardrock, poor condition of the A2
Effluent disposal (septic tanks)	4	Slow permeability
Farm dams (earthen)	5	Shallow depth to hardrock, very low suitability of subsoil, very dispersible subsoil, high seasonal watertable
Building foundations - slab	3	Moderate drainage, moderate depth to seasonal watertable
Building foundations - stumps/footings	3	Moderate drainage, moderate depth to seasonal watertable
Secondary roads	4	Universal Soil Group
Urban residential	4	Secondary roads
Rural residential	5	Farm dams

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