Location: Cranbourne. | Australian Soil Classification: Magnesic, Mottled-Subnatric, Grey SODOSOL |
Northcote Factual Key: Dy 5.31 | Great Soil Group: soloth |
Geology: Quaternary sands and sandy clays. | General Landscape Description: Lower lying area on a gently undulating sand plain. |
Mapping Unit: Toomuc sandy loam. | Site Description: Grassed verge on the edge of a vegetable cropping paddock. |
Site GP21 Landscape |
A1 | 0-20 cm | Dark greyish brown (10YR4/2); sandy loam; very weak consistence moist; weak crumb structure; pH 5.6; clear change to: | Site GP21 Profile |
A2 | 20-35 cm | Greyish brown (10YR5/2); sporadically bleached loamy sand; weak consistence moist, firm to very firm dry; pH 5.7; sharp change to: | |
Subsoil | |||
B21 | 35-70 cm | Dark greyish brown (10YR4/2) with brownish yellow (10YR6/8) and yellowish brown (10YR5/8) mottles; medium heavy clay; strong medium prismatic, parting to strong coarse blocky structure; contains dark organic stains on ped faces; very strong consistence dry; pH 6.1; clear change to: | |
B22 | 70-110 cm | Dark greyish brown (10YR4/2) with red (2.5YR4/8) and brownish yellow (10YR6/8) mottles; medium heavy clay; pH 6.4; clear and wavy change to: | |
2A | 110-140 cm | Brownish yellow (10YR6/6) sandy loam (clayey); structureless; contains patches of bleached sand and a few ironstone gravels (1-2 mm size); pH 7.1. |
The surface soil is moderately acid. The subsoil becomes decreasingly acidic with increasing depth down the profile. | The salinity rating is very low throughout the soil profile. | ||
The upper subsoil is sodic and the profile becomes increasingly sodic with depth. | The clay content increases significantly at the A/B horizon interface. | ||
The coarse sand percentage decreases in the upper subsoil but increases again at depth in the buried soil. |
Horizon | Horizon Depth (cm) | pH water | pH CaCl2 | EC 1:5 | Exchangeable Cations | Field Capacity pF 2.5 | Wilting Point pF 4.2 | Coarse Sand (0.2 -2 mm) | Fine Sand (0.02-0.2 mm) | Silt (0.002-0.02 mm) | Clay (<0.002 mm) | |||
ca | mg | k | Na | |||||||||||
meq/100g | ||||||||||||||
A1 | 0-20 | 5.6 | 4.8 | 0.07 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 0.16 | 0.15 | 19 | 5.6 | 31.4 | 36.7 | 17 | 10.5 |
A2 | 20-35 | 5.7 | 4.6 | <0.05 | 0.87 | 0.58 | 0.09 | 0.13 | 12.7 | 3.2 | 32 | 38.4 | 20.5 | 10 |
B21 | 35-70 | 6.1 | 4.8 | 0.07 | 0.78 | 6.9 | 0.19 | 0.92 | 28.7 | 16.5 | 14.6 | 22.4 | 17 | 47.5 |
B22 | 70-110 | 6.4 | 5.1 | 0.09 | 0.42 | 6.4 | 0.14 | 1.3 | 30.5 | 15.1 | 7.4 | 35.5 | 18 | 43 |
2A | 110-140 | 7.1 | 5.5 | <0.05 | 0.16 | 2.6 | 0.07 | 0.72 | 11 | 5.4 | 57.7 | 23.4 | 2.5 | 16.5 |