Soil/Landform Unit 12

Cleared land at the 'She Oaks' east of Steiglitz

Area:

1313 ha

0.10% of CMA region

Undulating rises on Neogene marine sediments occur in the Sheoaks-Steiglitz area in the east of the Corangamite catchment. As part of the Midlands of the Western Uplands, a wide variety of vegetation classes are found across this unit including Lowland Forest, Grassy Dry Forest, Heathy Dry Forest and Valley Grassy Forest. The dominant species include

Eucalyptus obliqua, E. dives, E. radiata, E. viminalis

and

E. ovata

. The sedimentary sands, silt and clay have a low inherent fertility and low water holding capacity. Land use is mainly grazing. Soils include sandy

mottled

texture contrast soils with

massive

subsoils. Structured subsoil equivalents may occur and there are minor occurrences of neutral mottled texture contrast soils. These soils tend to have shallow topsoils that are prone to sheet erosion, while the deeper soils in the drainage depression suffer from gully erosion and soil salting.

Cleared land gives way to pale loose sandy soils
	Remnant vegetation consists of brown stringybark, messmate and wattles

Component	1	2	3	4	5
Proportion of soil-landform unit	60%	13%	12%	7%	8%
CLIMATE Rainfall (mm)	Annual: 660
Temperature (^oC)	Minimum 8, Maximum 18
Precipitation less than potential evapotranspiration	October-March
GEOLOGY Age and lithology	Ordovician marine shale and sandstone, minor Quaternary basalt, Neogene marine sediments
Geomorphology	2.1.1 Dissected Western Uplands associated with Palaeozoic sedimentary and metamorphic rocks
LANDUSE	Uncleared: Nature conservation; water supply Cleared: Sheet and cattle grazing; cropping (cereal)
TOPOGRAPHY Landscape	Undulating rises
Elevation range (m)	164-364
Local relief (m)	3
Drainage pattern	Dendritic
Drainage density (km/km²)	2.3
Landform	Undulating plain	Flat plain	Drainage lines	Hill
Landform element	Well drained non-sandy areas	Poorly drained non-sandy areas	Low lying areas	Dry exposed slopes	Crest
Slope and range (%)	2 (1-3)	0 (0-2)	1 (1-3)	15 (10-35)	3 (1-6)
Slope shape	Convex	Flat	Concave	Straight	Convex
NATIVE VEGETATION Ecological Vegetation Class	Lowland Forest (20.4%); Grassy Dry Forest (13.6%); Heathy Dry Forest (4.8%); Valley Grassy Forest (2.1%); Plains Grassy Woodland (0.9%)
Dominant species	E. ovata	E. ovata	E. ovata	E. obliqua, E. dives, E. radiata, E. viminalis	E. obliqua, E. dives, E. radiata, E. viminalis
SOIL Parent material	Unconsolidated gravel, sand and clay	Unconsolidated gravel, sand and caly	Unconsolidated gravel, sand and clay	In situ weathered sandstone and shale	In situ weathered sandstone and shale
Description (Corangamite Soil Group)	Red mottled brown, grey or yellow texture contrast soil, fine structure (15)	Brown, grey or yellow sodic texture soil, coarse structure (14)	Mottled brown, grey or yellow texture contrast soil (13)	Red mottled brown, grey or yellow gradational or texture contrast soils, fine structure (25)	Shallow stony red and brown, grey or yellow gradational soil (25)
Soil type sites	MM5109, OTR499, SW63	SW99, SW93, OTR734	SW67, CLRA3, CLRA2	CLRA53, CLRA54, BD10	CLRA53, CLRA54, BD10
Surface texture	Sandy clay loam to loamy sand	Clay loam	Clay loam, sandy clay loam	Fine sandy loam	Gravelly loam
Permeability	Moderate	Low	Moderate	High	High
Depth (m)	2	2	2	2	0.5
LAND CHARACTERISTICS, POTENTIAL AND LIMITATIONS	Steep slopes and hardsetting surface result in significant over flow. Sheet and rill erosion also occurs from this overland flow. Gully erosion is also common in lower depressions.	Steep slopes and hardsetting surfaces result in significant overland flow. Sheet and rill erosion also occurs from this overland flow. Soil compaction is also a limitation for soils with shallow topsoils.	Moderate permeability subsoils and hardsetting surface result in significant flow. Sheet and rill erosion also occurs from this overland flow. Soil compaction is also a limitation for soils with shallow topsoils. Gully erosion is also common in lower depressions.	Steep slopes and harsetting surfaces result in significant overland flow. Sheet and rill erosion also occurs from this overland flow. Soil compaction is also a limitation for soils with shallow topsoils.	Moderate slopes and hardsetting surfaces result in significant overland flow. Sheet and rill erosion also occurs from this overland flow. Soil compaction is also a limitation for soils with shallow topsoils.

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