Sodosols have strong texture contrast between A and B horizons. The B horizons are sodic and vary from alkaline to moderately acidic.
Red Sodosol near Boort. Note the sandy surface horizons overlying the dense medium clay subsoil. The upper subsoil has coarse columnar structure. | Red Sodosols Red Sodosols occupy about half the northern sheet area, mostly on the older alluvial plain and on hillslopes, but also on volcanic plains and lunettes. Older alluvial plains occupy most of the Riverine Plain, and the soils are mainly red Sodosols with carbonates in the subsoil. These are generally referred to as "red brown earths". There is a textural sequence from soils with a high proportion of sand on prior stream levees to clay soils on the floodplains. The lighter soils have higher productivity, both under dryland irrigated farming. The heavier soils are more affected by hard setting surfaces and low hydraulic conductivity. The lower sites often have grey poorly-structured Vertosols. Gentle hillslopes on Palaeozoic sediments have red Sodosols with abundant gravel in the upper horizons. Profiles tend to be shallow, usually less than one metre thick. Land use is mostly grazing and productivity is limited by factors such as low rainfall, poor soil structure, sheet erosion and gully erosion. Dermosols are found on the steeper crests and yellow Sodosols in low sites. Volcanic plains with red Sodosols are limited to the area west of the Cairn Curran Reservoir, associated with Dermosols on the more dissected sites and Vertosols in drainage lines. |
This map of Sodosols in the North Central region has been developed by Jim Rowan and is based on the Land Systems of Victoria (1:250 000). It shows areas where Sodosols are most likely to occur within the region. Note that other soil types may also occur within these mapped areas (although they are likely to be a more minor component). | Sodosols North Central Region |