SFS8
Aust. Soil Class.: Vertic (& Ferric), Mottled-Subnatric, Black SODOSOL
Great Soil Group: Solodic
General Landscape Description: Low lying, gently sloping flat to convex
 SFS 8 |
Soil Profile Morphology:
| Surface Soil |  SFS 8 | ||
| Ap | 0-20 cm | Dark greyish brown (10YR 4/2 moist) with light brownish grey (10YR 6/2 dry) mottles; loam; apedal to very weakly pedal; pH 5.5; abrupt change to: | |
| A2c | 20-40/70 cm | Weak red (2.5Y 5/4 – 5/2 moist), conspicuously bleached (10YR 7/1 dry); fine gravel with insufficient fine earth to measure; deeper A2 has non gravelly (very minor buckshot), fine sandy loam; pH 5.5; smooth and abrupt change to: | |
| Subsoil | |||
| B21 | 40/70-80cm | Very dark greyish brown (10YR 3/2 moist) with fine yellow and red (10YR 8/8) mottles; medium heavy clay; very fine (<5 mm) polyhedral peds; very minor buckshot; pH 6.8; diffuse change to: | |
| B22 | 80cm+ | Dusky to weak red (2.5Y 4/4 – 5/4 moist) with faint red (2.5Y 5/6) mottles; fine polyhedral and very fine prismatic peds; clay and organic matter coatings on ped faces; small (110 mm) slickensides at base of pit; pH 7.7. | |
Key Profile Features:
- Strong texture contrast between surface (A) horizon and subsoil (B21) horizon.
- Conspicuously bleached subsurface (A) horizon with ferruginous nodules (‘buckshot’).
Soil Profile Characteristics:
pH | Salinity Rating | |||
Surface (A1 horizon) | Strongly Acid | Low | Non-sodic | None |
Subsoil (B21 horizon) | Slightly Acid | Low | Sodic | None1 |
Deeper subsoil (at 8 m+) | Slightly Alkaline | Low | Strongly Sodic | None1 |
 |
Horizon | Horizon Depth (cm) | pH (water) | pH (CaCl2) | EC dS/m | NaCl | Exchangeable Cations | |||
Ca | Mg | K | Na | ||||||
meq/100g | |||||||||
Ap | 0-20 | 5.5 | 5 | 0.32 | 0.02 | 6 | 1.3 | 0.2 | <0.1 |
A2 |  | 5.5 | 4.5 | 0.05 | | 1.3 | 1.4 | 0.07 | 0.23 |
B21 | 40/70-80 | 6.8 | 5.5 | 0.12 | | 4.1 | 12 | 0.4 | 2.9 |
B22 | 80+ | 7.7 | 6.6 | 23 | | 4.8 | 13 | 0.37 | 4.3 |
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 | 0-20 | <10 | 11 | 36.3 | 12.7 | 5.2 | 39.5 | 33.5 | 17 |
A2 | | 22 | 6.3 | 27.5 | 5.8 | 5.1 | 46.3 | 32.5 | 15 |
B21 | 40/70-80 | | 12 | 49.1 | 29.9 | 3.1 | 12 | 7.5 | 74.5 |
B22 | 80+ | | 8.1 | 52.6 | 30.8 | 1.6 | 13.4 | 7 | 75.5 |
Management Considerations:
Whole Profile
- Plant available water capacity (PAWC) is considered to be medium (estimated at 102 mm) in the upper 100 cm of this soil profile.
- Weak surface crust and fine buckshot, firm consistence; moderately heavy canola stubble.
- Fine roots throughout B horizon. Clay is tough and dense. The fine structure has been penetrated by crop roots
- Profile described by Richard MacEwan, May 1999.
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