1. Red texture contrast soils/Dissected Uplands: Palaeozoic non-granitic plateaux, mountains, hills and plains

This soil has developed on mainly sedimentary and metamorphic material (rock or colluvial material) and occasionally on acid volcanics in the Western Uplands. This soil is slightly acidic, often tending to neutral with depth.

The surface soil is usually a dark weakly structured sandy loam to sandy clay loam. It overlies a reddish brown weakly structured sandy clay loam to fine sandy clay loam subsurface horizon that is also weakly structured and contains variable amounts of coarse sandstone fragments. This horizon may be bleached. There is a clear change to a yellowish red medium clay upper subsoil horizon. This is strongly structured (with medium to fine sized peds) and contains weathered sandstone fragments. At depth the profile grades into lighter textured material and the underlying bedrock (Palaeozoic sandstone). The depth is about 60 cm or more with variable depths of the surface horizons, generally 10 cm for the surface and 15 cm for the subsurface.

Notable features include:

Texture contrast and associated structure differences between the surface horizons and subsoil.

Variants may be browner or paler in poorer drainage situations and possibly more dispersive.

The deeper subsoil may become sodic, calcareous and contains manganese segregations.

The lighter textured topsoil may be susceptible to sheet, rill and wind erosion.

Soil Sites

Site code

Soil-landform unit

Component

ASC

1:100 000 mapsheet

LP83

Landsborough footslopes

Hillcrest

Haplic, Mesotrphic, Red Chromosol

Dr2.21

T7254 - St Arnaud

DOAGW32

Rhymney hills

Hillslope

?-Sodic, Mesotrophic, Red Chromosol

Dr2.12

T7423 - Ararat

LP82

Pyrenees Ranges

Hillslope

Bleached-Sodic, Mesotrophic, Brown Chromosol

Dy2.42

T7254 - St Arnaud

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