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LSWW01

WLRA - soil pit WW1- landscape
Lower slope of small rise


    Location

Telopea Downs Road, Servicetown North, western Victoria

    Landform

Rise (minor)

    Geology

Quaternary Woorinen Formation:
aeolian dune sand, calcareous clay

    Element

Hillslope

Horizon
Depth (cm)
Description

A1

0–10

Brown (10YR5/3); loamy fine sand; single grain (structureless); loose consistence when dry; hydrophobic; pH 6.1; abrupt and wavy boundary to:
WLRA - soil pit WW1- profile
Vertic & Bleached-Sodic, Calcic, Grey CHROMOSOL

A2

10–25

Very pale brown (10YR7/4); sand; conspicuously bleached when dry; pH 7.2; sharp and wavy boundary to:

B21

25–55

Pale brown (10YR6/3) with many coarse faint reddish yellow mottles; medium clay (sandy) strong coarse angular blocky, parting to medium angular blocky structure; smooth ped-fabric; few (2-5%) soft calcium carbonate segregations; pH 8.7 (completely disperses after reworking); abrupt and wavy boundary to:

B22

55–105

Brownish yellow (10YR6/6) with many very coarse prominent dark yellowish brown and light grey mottles; sandy clay loam; massive (structureless); very few soft calcium carbonate segregations; pH 9.3 (strongly dispersive when dry); clear and wavy boundary to:

B31

105–140

Light grey (10YR7/1) with common coarse distinct brownish yellow mottles; light fine sandy clay loam; massive (structureless)to weakly structured; very few (<2%) soft calcareous segregations; pH 9.7; clear and wavy boundary to:

B32

140–180+

Light grey (5Y7/1) with common very coarse prominent dark yellowish brown mottles; light medium clay; moderate to strong coarse polyhedral, parting to medium polyhedral structure; smooth ped-fabric; few slickensides; few calcareous segregations; pH 9.8.


Management Considerations

  • Sandy topsoil, susceptible to wind, sheet and rill erosion
  • Strong textural contrast between the topsoil and subsoil horizons
  • Bleached A2 horizon
  • Columnar structure with hard setting bleached capping above, restricting water and gas movement
  • Mottled subsoil
  • Top of subsoil is dispersive following cultivation when wet
  • Alkaline subsoil, strongly sodic and increased salinity at depth
  • As the land tends to have gilgai micro-relief the soil is variable and the horizons are of variable depths
  • All horizons have very wavy boundaries. The grey clay horizon (140-180 cm) can be to within one metre of the surface in places.
  • Low nutrient status of surface soil
  • Plant Available Water Capacity (PAWC) is considered to be medium (estimated at 107 mm) for this site profile based on an Effective Rooting Depth (ERD) of 55 cm. Rooting depth will be restricted by subsoil conditions, such as strongly sodic (Exchangeable Sodium Percentage >20%), high soluble salt levels (chloride >0.1%), poor structure (eg. massive or very coarse, columnar or prismatic), very high carbonate (lime) content (not applicable to all plant species), or hard rock.

Horizon
Depth
(cm)
pH
(water)
pH
(CaCl2)
EC
dS/m
NaCl
%
Exchangeable Cations
cmol-/kg
Wilting Point
(pF4.2)
Coarse Sand
%
Fine Sand
%
Silt
%
Clay
%
Ca
Mg
K
Na
A1
0–10
6.1
5.5
0.1
2.4
0.4
0.4
0.1
5.3
10.3
80.6
3
3.5
A2
10–25
7.2
6.2
<0.05
-
-
-
-
1.4
10.6
84.2
1.5
2.5
B21
25–55
8.7
8
0.16
9.6
4.6
1.8
0.8
18.0
7
40.8
1.5
46
B22
55–105
9.3
8.2
0.15
3.6
3.4
1.1
1.1
9.8
8
65.2
2
22.5
B31
105–140
9.7
8.5
0.2
B32
140–180+
9.8
8.7
0.46
<0.05
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