Mooleric Land System

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The stony rises between Mount Gellibrand and the Baron River were among the first areas grazed in this part of Victoria. The stony rises are both interconnected and solitary and they slope southwards away from Mount Gellibrand. The major areas is found north of the Princes Highway, but occasional vents or old cones also occur further south.

The nature of the native vegetation is difficult to determine. Many early reports describe the area as a treeless plain, but there are occasional specimens of Acacia melanoxylon, A. implexa and even Eucalyptus viminalis in roadside reserves. Thus, there may have originally been a low open woodland prior to settlement, which has disappeared following grazing and burning. Stony rise landscapes in other parts of Victoria possess woodland or low woodland communities.

Soil nutrient levels are high on these basalt outcrops, especially in the less weathered soils. The abundance of rock floaters and outcrops makes cultivation difficult even on infilled swamps between the rises. Thus grazing, often on unimproved pastures, is the main land use.

A Study of land in the catchments of the Otway Range and adjacent plains - mooleric

Depressions between the stony rises are infilled with basaltic clay
and organic clay, both of which have low permeability,
leading to waterlogging.

Area: 45 km²	Component and its proportion of land system
Area: 45 km²	1 5%	2 9%	3 7%	4 45%	5 25%	6 5%	7 4%
CLIMATE Rainfall, mm	Annual: 550 – 600, lowest January (25), highest August (60)
Temperature, 0^oC	Annual: 13, lowest July (8), highest February (19)
	Temperature: less than 10^oC (av.) June - August
	Precipitation: less than potential evapotranspiration late September – April
GEOLOGY Age, lithology	Pleistocene basalt, scoria and tuff
TOPOGRAPHY Landscape	Stony rise, undulating plain with occasional steep hills (volcanic cones)
Elevation, m	120 – 250
Local relief, m	5
Drainage pattern	Dendritic
Drainage density, km/km²	0.2
Land form	Stony rise			Plain			Cone
Land form element	Broad crest	Steep slopes, narrow crest	Apron	Gentle slope	Depression	Bank	-
Slope (and range), %	2 (0-3)	10 (3-15)	5 (3-9)	1 (0-3)	0 (0-3)	1 (0-2)	10 (1-25)
Slope shape	Linear	Convex	Concave	Linear	Concave	Convex	Linear
NATIVE VEGETATION Structure	Possibly low woodland				Possibly sedgeland	Possibly low woodland
Dominant species	Acacia melanoxylon, A. implexa, E. viminalis				Juncus spp., Ranunculus spp., Carex spp., Scirpus calocarpus, Schoenus apogon	Acacia melanoxylon, A. implexa, E. viminalis
SOIL Parent material	Basalt	Freshly weathering rock	Colluvium, mainly clay	Basalt	Alluvium, plant remains	Basalt	Scoria, tuff, basalt
Description	Grey calcareous sodic duplex soils, coarse structure	Stony red-brown gradational soils	Black calcareous clay soils, uniform texture	Grey calcareous sodic duplex soils, coarse structure	Grey calcareous sodic clay soils, uniform texture	Grey calcareous sodic duplex soils, coarse structure	Stony red-brown gradational soils
Surface texture	Clay loam	Loam	Clay	Fine sandy loam	Clay	Fine sandy loam	Clay loam
Permeability	Very low	High	Very low	Very low	Very low	Very low	High
Depth, m	0.2	0.2	1.2	1.9	>2	>2	0.9
LAND USE	Cleared areas: Sheep and beef cattle grazing; some minor cropping between stony rises.
SOIL DETERIORATION HAZARD Critical land features, processes, forms	Soils of low permeability are prone to waterlogging.	Stony shallow soils with low water-holding capacity, over rock layers on steep slopes, are prone to sheet erosion.	Soils of low permeability are prone to water logging.	Sodic clay subsoils of low permeability with seasonally high water tables are prone to soil salting.	Soils of low permeability and with sodic clay subsoils are prone to waterlogging, soil compaction and soil salting.	Minor hazards.	Stony shallow soils with low water-holding capacity, over rock layers on steep slopes, are prone to sheet erosion.

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