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LSWW11

WLRA - soil pit WW11- landscape
Crest of a low rise near Minimay

    Site Code
LSWW11
WLRA - soil pit WW11- profile
Hypercalcic, Mottled-Hypernatric, Brown SODOSOL

    Location

West of Booroopki Swamp, western Victoria

    Landform

Rise

    Geology

Quaternary Woorinen Formation:
aeolian dune sand, calcareous clay

    Element

Hillcrest

Horizon
Depth (cm)
Description

A1

0–20

Dark brown (10YR3/3);
loamy sand; massive (structureless); weak consistence when dry; pH 6.1.

A2

20–25

Pale brown (10YR6/3);
loamy sand; conspicuously bleached; massive (structureless); weak consistence when dry; discontinuous horizon; pH 6.9; sharp boundary to:

B21

25–65

Brown (10YR4/3) with many coarse distinct yellowish brown and red mottles, colour changes to strong brown (7.5YR5/6) at depth and mottle abundance decreases;
medium heavy clay; strong very coarse columnar, parting to moderate very coarse blocky structure; very strong consistence when dry (complete dispersion); pH 7.5.

B22k

65–100

Pink (7.5YR7/4) with common fine distinct reddish yellow mottles;
medium clay, fine sandy; moderate coarse prismatic, parting to coarse blocky structure; many (40%) soft calcareous segregations, and a few (5%) hard silica/carbonate nodules; strong dispersion; horizon is discontinuous, with the carbonate forming large patches in places; pH 9.6.

B23

100–130

Reddish yellow (7.5YR7/6) with common yellowish red mottles;
medium clay, coarse sandy; pH 9.7.

BC

130–180+

Partially weathered sandstone; pH 9.5.

Management Considerations

  • Sandy and hydrophobic topsoil
  • Strong texture contrast between topsoil and subsoil
  • Bleached A2 horizon, fewer nutrients available
  • Alkaline subsoil decreasing slightly at depth. Strongly sodic and dispersive clay subsoil. Coarse columnar structure in upper subsoil
  • Mottled subsoil indicating restrictive drainage
  • Weathered sandstone comes in at around 130 cm
  • Plant Available Water Capacity (PAWC) is considered to be low (estimated at 50 mm) for this site profile based on an Effective Rooting Depth (ERD) of 25 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.
  • Landform is a gentle hill crest, slightly water shedding; moderate site drainage

Horizon
Depth (cm)
pH (water)
pH (CaCl2)
EC
dS/m
NaCl
%
Exchangeable Cations
cmol-/kg
Wilting Point
(pF 4.2)
Coarse Sand
%
Fine Sand
%
Silt
%
Clay
%
Ca
Mg
K
Na
A1
0–20
6.1
5.6
0.12
2.5
0.9
0.3
0.3
8.5
42.2
38.2
4.5
8
A2
20–25
6.9
6.4
<0.05
B21
25–65
7.5
6.6
0.25
4.1
8.1
0.4
4.7
19.4
27.4
22.4
3.5
40.5
B22k
65–100
9.6
9.0
0.53
<0.05
3.8
12
0.5
7.3
16.7
31.5
23.2
3
35
B22k
65–100
9.8
8.7
0.49
<0.05
B23
100–130
9.7
9.0
0.52
<0.05
BC
130–180+
9.5
8.6
0.29
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