7 Brown, yellow, grey and black gradational (earth) soils on Cretaceous sediments

These soils occur on moderately moist and moist/wet aspects of the Southern Uplands underlain by Cretaceous sediments.

The surface soil is a moderately fine structured dark organic fine sandy loam to clay (5–40 cm deep) with an occasional clear change to a weak structured fine sandy loam to fine sandy clay loam subsurface soil (A2 horizon 30–60 cm) which grades into a dark or brown medium to heavy clay subsoil which is often mottled, particularly with depth. Subsoil structure ranges from coarse to fine, often with obvious clay skins. Subsoils are generally strongly acidic with little sodicity evident, the result of increasing rainfall and subsequent leaching. Soil depth is usually greater than 100 cm before grading into weathered sandstone, often clearly. Combined with steep slopes these soils can be slip prone, though high organic matter content of the surface horizons helps stabilise these soils. Friable whole coloured soils occur in the wetter areas.

Notable characteristics include: high clay content with fine sand component, weathered deep profiles with little rock fragment content, gradual increase of clay with depth, variable surface soil depth, pale mottled lower subsoils, strongly acidic but moderate nutrient holding capacity.		CLRA Soil Unit 7


Soil Sites
Site Code
Soil-landform unit
Component
ASC
FK
1:100 000 mapsheet
HillcrestMelacic-Mottled, Mesotrophic, Brown DermosolGn4.71T7620 - Otway
CLRA27
Upper slopeMelanic, ?, Brown DermosolGn4.32T7821 - Sorrento
-Acidic, Eutrophic, Brown DermosolGn3.51T7520 - Princetown
Mid slopeMelacic, Mesotrophic, Black DermosolGn3.41T7520 - Princetown
OTR416
Mid slopeAcidic-Mottled, Mesotrophic, Yellow DermosolGn3.90T7620 - Otway
OTR418
Upper slopeHaplic, Mesotrophic, Brown DermosolGn3.21T7520 - Princetown
OTR428
Mid slopeAcidic, Dystrophic, Brown DermosolGn3.21T7520 - Princetown
OTR732
Upper slopeMelanic, Mesotrophic, Black KandosolGn2.02T7721 - Geelong
OTR736
Upper slopeMelacic, Dystrophic, Brown DermosolUc1.41T7620 - Otway
OTR748
Mid slopeAcidic-Mottled, Magnesic, Brown DermosolGn3.21T7521 - Corangamite
OTR750
Mid slopeAcidic-Mottled, Magnesic, Brown DermosolGn3.51T7520 - Princetown
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