These soils occur on the Bellarine Peninsula south of Portarlington as well as other coastal and inland locations. These soils have a dark weakly structured sandy loam surface soil (10–20 cm) overlying a bleached apedal (unconsolidated) sand or loamy sand (to 30–60+ cm) abruptly overlying a coarse strongly structured red and yellow mottled medium clay grading into a mottled sandy clay (to 100 cm) and then into a clayey fine sand (to 150+ cm). Occasionally, a thin dark structured light clay may lie between the bleached subsurface horizon and the mottled medium clay, forming a weak organic argillic (clay) pan. The surface and subsurface horizons are strongly acidic with greater alkalinity with depth; the underlying clayey fine sand sediments being slightly alkaline (pH 7.7). The sand depth may be greater than 150 cm in many instances (i.e. dune crests). Notable characteristics include: texture and consistency contrast, weak consistence of upper sandy soil, binding ability of surface soil organic matter, clay accumulation/pans at depth over older sediments, and strongly acidic sands over alkaline clayey sands. |
Site Code | Soil-landform unit | Component | ASC | FK | 1:100 000 mapsheet |
Lower dune slope | Eutrophic, Mottled-Subnatric, Yellow Sodosol | Dy5.41 | T7821 - Sorrento | ||
CLRA25 | 209 | Mid slope | Mottled, ?, Red Chromosol, Podosol | Dr5.12 | T7821 - Sorrento |
OTR500 | 317 | Mid slope | Acidic, Regolithic, Bleached-leptic Tenosol | Uc/Dy5.41 | T7721 - Geelong |
- | Melacic, Humic/alsilic, Semiaquic, Podosol | Uc4.0 | T7520 - Princetown | ||
OTR737 | - | Melacic-mottled, Petroferric, Brown Kandosol | Em5.42/Dy3.11 | T7620 - Otway | |
OTR739 | Upper slope | Melacic-parapanic, Humic/sesquic, Aquic Podosol | Uc4.0 | T7520 - Princetown | |
Mid slope | Fragic, subnatric, Aeric Podosol | Uc5.11 | T7520 - Princetown |