SFS17

Location: Woorndoo

Australian Soil Classification: Vertic, Mottled-Hypernatric, Black and Grey SODOSOL

General Landscape Description: Gently undulating basalt plain
Site Description: Relatively elevated position near the crest with gilgai 4 m wide.
Land Use: Wheat cropping
Geology: Quaternary - Newer Volcanics

Image: SFS 17 landscape
SFS17 Landscape

Soil Profile Morphology:

Surface Soil

Ap	0-10 cm	Brown (10YR5/3); fine sandy clay loam; cracking surface; apedal to weakly pedal; weak consistence dry; pH 5.8; abrupt change to:	SFS17 Profile
A21e	10-20 cm	Light brownish grey (10YR6/2) conspicuously bleached (10YR7/3d); fine sandy loam; apedal but with platy pan in upper part of horizon; weak to firm consistence dry; pH 5.1; clear change to:
A22c	20-35 cm	Light brownish grey (10YR6/2) conspicuously bleached (10YR7/3d); gravelly loam; very many medium to coarse (3-20 mm) buckshot (the coarser buckshot fraction is comprised of cemented smaller buckshot, the finer fraction is magnetic); pH 6.0; sharp change to: NOTE: horizon varies in thickness, can go as deep as 60 cm.
Subsoil
B21t	35-60 cm	Dark grey to very dark grey (10YR4/1 – 3/1) with fine strong red mottles (sometimes yellower and becoming dull yellow with depth); heavy clay; strong coarse prismatic, parting to medium blocky structure; strong consistence dry; pH 7.1-7.7.

Subsoil B21 ped

Crop root development

Key Profile Features:

Strong texture contrast between surface (A) horizons and subsoil (B21) horizon.
Conspicuously bleached subsurface (A2) horizon.

Soil Profile Characteristics:

	pH	Salinity Rating	Sodicity	Dispersion
Surface (A1 horizon)	Moderately Acid	Low	Non-Sodic	None
Subsoil (B21 horizon)	Near Neutral	Low	Strongly sodic	Strong-Complete
Deeper Subsoil (at 50-60 cm)	Slightly Alkaline	Low	Strongly Sodic	Strong

Horizon	Horizon Depth (cm)	pH (water)	pH (CaCl₂)	EC dS/m	NaCl %	Organic Carbon %	Nitrogen %	Exchangeable Cations
								Ca	Mg	K	Na
								meq/100g
Ap	0-10	5.8	5.8	0.25		2.9	0.25	6.5	1.6	0.31	0.33
A21	10-20	5.1	4.7	0.17				1.9	0.66	0.10	0.12
A22	20-35	6.0	5.7	0.19				1.5	0.73	0.14	0.28
B21 (upper)	35-45	7.1	6.3	0.35	0.04			5.4	9.0	0.7	5.6
B21 (lower)	50-60	7.7	7.0	0.39	0.04			4.9	8.4	0.6	5.3

Horizon	Horizon Depth (cm)	Exchangeable Aluminium mg/kg	Exchangeable Acidity meq/100g	Field Capacity pF2.5	Wilting Point pF4.2	Coarse Sand (0.2-2.0 mm)	Fine Sand (0.02-0.2 mm)	Silt (0.002-0.02 mm)	Clay (<0.002 mm)


Ap	0-10	<10	8.8	29.2	9.8	8	43	26	17
A21	10-20	<10	4.6	22.4	4.4	8	49	27	14
A22	20-35	<10	7.4	15.8	6.5	55	22	13	9
B21 (upper)	35-45			41.2	26.6	7	13	7	69
B21 (lower)	50-60			37.2	22.9	17	16	28	30

Management Considerations:

Whole Profile

Plant available water capacity (PAWC) is considered to be low (estimated at 95 mm) in the upper 100 cm of this soil profile.

NOTES: Property owner reports that this paddock has crabhole features with A2 and buckshot of very variable thickness, some places the clay B horizon may be at 60 cm depth while in others the clay is almost at the surface. Generally around 4 metres between crabholes. Soil shows cracking to surface on “clay banks” and crickets are plentiful.

Profile Described By: Richard MacEwan (December 1999).

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