Victorian Resources Online (archived)
Site SW59
| Location: Simpson. | Australian Soil Classification: Sesquic, Semiaquic PODOSOL |
| Great Soil Group: podzol | General Landscape Description: Upper slope crest in a dissected plain. |
| Geology: Veneer of Tertiary Hanson Plain Sand overlying Gellibrand Marl. |
Soil Profile Morphology:
Surface Soil
| A1 | 0-15 cm | Black (2.5Y2.5/1); sandy loam; pH 5.6; smooth change to: |  Site SW59 photo. Note: Surface (A1) horizon has been stripped from this profile |
| A2 | 15-30 cm | Intermittent horizon; conspicuously bleached; clear and wavy change to: | |
| Subsoil | |||
| B21s | 15/30-60 cm | Mottled yellowish brown (10YR5/8 moist) and very dark greyish brown (10YR3/2 moist); sandy clay loam; weak very fine polyhedral structure; weak to firm consistence; weakly cemented, weak 'coffee rock'; pH 5.3; gradual and wavy change to: | |
| B22g | 60-90 cm | Light olive brown (2.5Y5/4 moist) with prominent yellowish brown (10YR7/8 moist) to yellow (10YR5/8 moist) mottles; sandy clay; very coarse (50-100 mm in size) polyhedral, parting to coarse (20-50 mm in size blocky structure; whitish sand coatings on the larger ped faces; pH 5.5; clear smooth change to: | |
| B3 | 90 cm+ | Light greenish grey (5GY7/1 moist); heavy clay; brownish yellow (10YR6/8 moist) mottles; very coarse (50-100 mm in size) polyhedral, parting to coarse (20-50 mm in size) blocky structure; slickensides (>50 mm in size) present; pH 6.3. | |
Key Profile Features:
- Strong texture contrast between surface (A) horizons and subsoil (B21) horizon.
pH | Salinity Rating | |||
Surface (A1 horizon) | Moderately Acid | Low | Non-Sodic | None |
Subsoil (B21 horizon) | Strongly Acid | Low | Non-Sodic | None |
Deeper subsoil (at 90+ cm) | Slightly Acid | Low | - | None |
 |
Horizon | Horizon Depth (cm) | pH (water) | pH CaCl2 | EC 1:5 | Exchangeable Cations | |||
Ca | Mg | K | Na | |||||
meq/100g | ||||||||
A1 | 0-30 | 5.6 | 5 | 0.16 | 5.8 | 0.87 | 0.26 | 0.33 |
| Sporadic A2 not sampled | ||||||||
B21 | 30-60 | 5.3 | 4.5 | 0.08 | 0.83 | 1 | 0.12 | 0.27 |
B22 | 60-90 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 0.08 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 0.14 | 0.41 |
B3 | 90+ | 6.3 | 5.2 | 0.14 | ||||
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) |
A1 | 0-30 | <10 | 12 | 20 | 9 | 24 | 49 | 11 | 9 |
| |||||||||
B21 | 30-60 | 150 | 11 | 20 | 11 | 18 | 48 | 2 | 25 |
B22 | 60-90 | 61 | 5.7 | 22 | 12 | 18 | 44 | 4 | 33 |
B3 | 90+ | ||||||||
Management Considerations:
Subsoil (B) Horizons
- Exchangeable aluminium levels are quite high in the strongly acid upper subsoil. This may restrict the growth of aluminium sensitive species.
- Contrast gleyed subsoil - sandy clay to heavy clay represents transition from overlying Hanson Plain Sand to underlying Gellibrand Marl.
