Location: Murtoa
Morphological Soil Type: Murtoa Clay
Australian Soil Classification: Episodic-Endocalcareous, Massive, Grey VERTOSOL
Northcote Factual Key: Ug 5.24
Great Soil Group: grey clay
Mapping Unit: Murtoa Clay.
General Landscape Description: Level plain.
Site Description: The site was cleared and cultivated.
Geology: Late Pleistocene to Holocene.
Native Vegetation: This site may have been within the savanna woodland Black Box (Eucalyptus largiflorens) association vegetation unit.
IS13 landscape |
A1 | 0-10 cm | Greyish brown (10YR5/2); light clay; subplastic; surface cracking; massive surface condition when undisturbed; weak coarse subangular blocky structure when disturbed; very strong consistence dry, slightly sticky consistence wet; pH 7.3; sharp and wavy change to: | IS13 Profile |
Subsoil | |||
B21 | 10-25 cm | Greyish brown (10YR5/2); light medium clay; subplastic; moderate very coarse prismatic structure; strong consistence dry, slightly sticky consistence wet; pH 8.3: | |
B22 | 25-60 cm | Greyish brown (10YR5/2); medium heavy clay; plastic; moderate very coarse prismatic structure; strong consistence dry, slightly sticky consistence wet; pH 8.9; sharp and wavy change to: | |
B31 | 60-90 cm | Pale brown (10YR6/3); heavy clay; plastic; contains large slickensides; strong consistence dry, slightly sticky consistence wet; contains very few (< 2 %) soft and hard carbonates; pH 9.2: | |
B32 | 90-120 cm | Pale brown (10YR6/3); heavy clay; plastic; contains large slickensides; strong consistence dry, slightly sticky consistence wet; contains very few (< 2 %) soft and hard carbonates; pH 9.1: | |
B33 | 120-150 cm | Pale brown (10YR6/3); heavy clay; plastic; contains large slickensides; strong consistence dry, slightly sticky consistence wet; contains very few (< 2%) soft and hard carbonates; pH 8.7. |
pH | Salinity Rating | |||
Surface (A1 horizon) | Slightly Alkaline | Very low | Sodic | None1 |
Subsoil (B21 horizon) | Moderately Alkaline | Very low | Sodic | Slight |
Deeper Subsoil (at 1 m) | Very Strongly Alkaline | Medium | Very Strongly Sodic | Strong |
The surface soil is slightly alkaline. The upper subsoil is moderately alkaline becoming very strongly alkaline with depth. | The salinity rating is very low in the surface and upper subsoil becoming moderate with depth. | The surface and upper subsoil is sodic becoming very strongly sodic with depth. | The clay content is high throughout the profile. |
Horizon | Sample Depth cm | pH | EC dS/m | Sodium Chloride % | Exchangeable Calcium cmol-/kg | Exchangeable Magnesium cmol-/kg | Exchangeable Potassium cmol-/kg | Exchangeable Sodium cmol-/kg | Exchangeable Aluminium mg/kg | Exchangeable Acidity cmol-/kg | Field Capacity -30okPa | Permanent Wilting Point -1500okPa | Coarse Sand % | Fine Sand % | Silt % | Clay % | |
H2O | CaCl2 | ||||||||||||||||
A1 | 010 | 7.3 | NA | 0.13 | 0.02 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 1.6 | 1.6 | NA | 3.1 | 28.5 | 18.8 | 8 | 27 | 10 | 52 |
B21 | 1025 | 8.3 | NA | 0.12 | 0.02 | 10.3 | 11.2 | 1.4 | 2.7 | NA | 2.2 | NA | 22.9 | 6 | 21 | 12 | 61 |
B22 | 25–60 | 8.9 | NA | 0.15 | 0.03 | 9.6 | 12.1 | 1.4 | 4 | NA | 3.3 | NA | 21.6 | 5 | 22 | 12 | 60 |
B31 | 60–90 | 9.2 | NA | 0.28 | 0.04 | 7.4 | 11.3 | 1.3 | 5.5 | NA | NA | NA | 20.0 | 6 | 25 | 11 | 55 |
B32 | 90–120 | 9.1 | NA | 0.58 | 0.08 | 6.9 | 11.8 | 1.4 | 7.3 | NA | NA | NA | 20.6 | 6 | 23 | 12 | 57 |
B33 | 120–150+ | 8.7 | NA | 0.92 | 0.17 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 24.9 | 3 | 11 | 13 | 72 |