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CRC3

Location: Murroa

Australian Soil Classification: Vertic, Mottled-Subnatric, Brown, SODOSOL
General Landscape Description: Undulating rises
Site Description: Lower slope of a gently undulating rise.
Geology: Tertiary/Quaternary basalt.


Image: CRC7 Landscape

CRC3 Landscape


Soil Profile Morphology:

Surface Soil

A10-15 cmDark brown (10YR3/3); very fine sandy clay loam; hardsetting; firm consistence (dry); pH 5.2; clear change to:

Image: CRC3 Profile
CRC3 Profile
A2115-25 cmBrown (10YR5/3); sporadically bleached; very fine sandy clay loam; weak consistence (moist); ferruginous nodules (1-10 mm) common (10%); pH 5.5; clear change to:

A22c25-40 cmBrown (10YR5/3); very fine sandy clay loam; many (40%) ferruginous nodules (1-10 mm); pH 6.2; clear and wavy change to:
Subsoil

B2140-75 cmBrown (10YR5/3) with a common amount of yellowish brown (10YR5/8) and red (2.5YR5/8) mottles; medium clay; strong very coarse to coarse prismatic, parting to moderate to strong medium to fine blocky structure; very firm consistence (moist); ferruginous nodules (2-10 mm) common (15%); pH 6.6; wavy and irregular change to:

Note: Some parts of the soil pit have brownish yellow (10YR6/8) with brown (10YR5/3) and strong brown (7.5YR5/6) mottles; medium clay; pockets of strong fine polyhedral structure; firm consistence (moist); many (30%) ferruginous nodules (2-10 mm); pH 7.0:

B2275-140 cmLight yellowish brown (10YR6/4) and brownish yellow (10YR6/6) with many dark red (2.5YR4/8) mottles; medium clay; strong very coarse prismatic, parting to strong coarse to very fine lenticular structure; few (5%) ferruginous nodules; manganese stains; pH 7.4:

Image: CRC3 Profilea
The variability in depth of the bleached surface horizon across the soil pit is the result of gilgai microrelief.

Key Profile Features:
  • Very strong texture contrast between surface (A) horizons and subsoil (B21) horizon.
  • Conspicuously bleached subsurface (A2) horizon.
  • Many ferruginous nodules at the base of the subsurface horizons.
  • Vertic properties i.e. slickensides and lenticular peds in the deeper subsoil.

Soil Profile Characteristics:

pH
Salinity Rating
Surface
(A1 horizon)
Strongly Acid
Medium
Non-Sodic
None
Subsoil
(B21a horizon)
Slightly Acid
Very Low
Marginally Sodic
None1
Deeper subsoil
(at 75-140 cm)
Neutral
Low
Sodic
None
1 Moderate to strong dispersion after remoulding.
Image: CRC3 Graphs

Chemical and Physical Analysis:
Horizon
Horizon Depth
(cm)
pH
(water)
pH
(CaCl2)
EC
dS/m
Organic Carbon
%
Total
Nitrogen
%
Exchangeable Aluminium
ppm
Exchangeable Acididty
meq/100g
Exchangeable Cations
Coarse Sand
(0.2-2.0 mm)
%
Fine Sand
(0.02-0.2 mm)
%
Silt
(0.002-0.02 mm)
%
Clay
(<0.002 mm)
%
Field Capacity
% w/w
Wilting Point
% w/w
Ca
Mg
K
Na
meq/100g
A1
0-15
5.2
4.8
0.40
13
15
6.4
1.8
0.5
0.2
8
37
23
17
39
15
A21
15-25
5.5
4.7
0.06
12
8.2
3.1
1.5
0.15
0.15
18
36
24
18
26
9
A22c
25-40
6.2
5.2
<0.05
<10
4.1
1.5
0.96
0.11
0.11
33
32
18
12
19
8
B21
40-75
6.6
5.6
0.08
10.7
6.5
8.9
0.25
1.5
4
12
11
72
43
29
B22
75-140
7.4
6.6
0.21
7.4
7.2
13
0.27
3.0
4
14
8
72
50
29

Management Considerations:

Surface (A) Horizons
  • The surface soil (upper 25 cm) is strongly acid which indicates that aluminium and manganese toxicity may occur. However, the level of exchangeable aluminium measured at this site is quite low (<13 mg/kg). To confirm this finding, a pH/aluminium test is best performed from samples taken across the paddock and bulked together. Other factors also need to be considered before lime is recommended e.g. pasture species grown, method of application, local trial responses, soil surface structure and likely cost/benefit.
Subsoil (B) Horizons
  • The dense and marginally sodic upper subsoil is likely to restrict root and water movement more than the subsoils of sites CRC1 and CRC2. Waterlogging is also more likely to occur here as these soils occupy the lower parts of the landscape.
Profile Described By: Mark Imhof, Austin Brown, Darren Bennetts and Malcolm McCaskill - March 2003.
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