17 Black, grey, yellow and red mottled gradational (earth) soils on Neogene sediments

These soils of relatively limited extent are found on the gently undulating plains, rises or low level plateaux in higher rainfall areas underlain by Neogene sediments (generally sands), which are generally unconsolidated but often have an indurated pan or layer on which the soils have developed. These soils have probably formed on depositional material.

These soils are dark, strongly structured throughout, with a gradual increase of clay with depth and are acidic (though sometimes strongly acidic) and sometimes sodic. The surface soils of clay loams to very fine sandy clay loams may be 30 to 60 cm deep, grading into the slightly (brown) mottled light to medium clays of the subsoil which has vertic (swelling) properties. Ferruginous and ferromanganiferous nodules (buckshot) are present in small quantities (up to 5%) in most profiles examined. Some swelling and cracking soils with higher surface clay contents also occur on this parent material, but may have influences from more recent deposition of either basaltic or alluvial material (see Quaternary alluvium section). A notable characteristic is the gradational profile, often with swelling clays at depth. The surfaces may be friable in the wetter areas where more organic material has accumulated and parent material may have come from a number of sources.		CLRA Soil Unit 17


Soil Sites
Site Code
Soil-landform unit
Component
ASC
FK
1:100 000 mapsheet
COF04a
Upper slopeBleached-mottled, Magnesic, Grey KandosolUm4.31T7721 - Geelong
COF04b
Mid slopeBleached-mottled, Magnesic, Grey KandosolGn2.74, Dy3.41T7721 - Geelong
Mid slopeMelacic, Mesotrophic, Brown KandosolGn3.84T7520 - Princetown
OTR746
Lower slopeMottled, Mesotrophic, Brown DermosolGn3.51T6721 - Colac
OTR749
HillcrestHaplic, Mesotraphic, Red DermosolGn2.11T7520 - Princetown
OTR782
CrestBleached-ferric, Mesotrophic, Brown DermosolGn3.74T7520 - Princetown
FlatMottled-Sodic, Eutrophic, Brown DermosolGn3.71T7421 - Mortlake
Lower slopeHaplic, Mesotrophic, Brown KandosolGn2.81T7520 - Princetown
SW36
FlatMelacic-Mottled, Eutrophic, Black DermosolGn3.41T7521 - Corangamite
FlatEpiacidic, Epipedal, Black VertosolUg5.16, Gn3.41T7521 - Corangamite
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