Reference soil Australia 4: Vertisol

AU004

Distribution of Vertisols (rough estimation supplied by soilgrids)

REFERENCE: Handbook of Australian Soils, p. 88 PROFILE DESCRIPTION: black inclusions in Ah +Au1 Au1: in cracks material from Ah, common very fine roots. Au2: mottles along cracks, common very fine roots. Au3: in top large root Au4: structure is paralellepiped breaking to fine 1.5cm on top has platy material (10YR5/2, moist) with some red gravel (1.5cm). Most roots along cracks; pores mainly between peds, few inside peds

WRB 1998:

Chromi- Grumic Vertisol (Hyposodic)

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1988:

FAO-UNESCO 1974:

Eutric Vertisol

Chromic Vertisol

USDA-SCS (1975):

Classification (other):

Chromustert fine mixed thermic

HAS: Grey clay; FK: Ug5.24l

Location:

Chinchilla District, Queensland

Parent material

he main parent rock/ material over which the soil has been formed (1st entry)	:	siltstone
Texture of parent material (1st entry)	:	sandy clay
Weathering status of solid rock (1st entry)	:	slightly
Resistance against weathering (solid rock) (1st entry)	:	moderate
Depth1 of lithological boundary	:	250 cm
The main parent rock/ material over which the soil has been formed (2nd entry)	:	gypsum rock
Mode of Accumulation or deposition of parent material (2nd entry)	:	estuarine sediments
Texture of parent material (2nd entry)	:	gravelly
Weathering status of solid rock (2nd entry)	:	partially or moderately
Resistance against weathering (solid rock) (2nd entry)	:	moderate
Soil Depth; depth to which roots can easily penetrate throughout the year	:	128 cm
Remarks on Parent Materials	:	Jura walloon coal me

Physical

Particle size distribution:

Depth (cm)		Gravel (%)	Very Coarse Sand (%)	Coarse Sand (%)	Medium Sand (%)	Fine Sand (%)	Very Fine Sand (%)	Total Sand (%)	Coarse Silt (%)	Fine Silt (%)	Total Silt (%)	Clay (%)
0-10	:	7	6	11	15	18	11	61	8	11	19	19
10-33	:	0	4	10	16	19	9	58	7	11	18	23
33-65	:	0	4	9	13	15	7	48	6	10	16	36
65-90	:	0	2	8	11	13	6	40	6	10	16	44
90-120	:	0	3	15	28	37	10	93	2	1	3	3
120-150	:	0	3	14	29	34	10	90	2	2	4	6
150-174	:	20	3	12	25	32	10	82	5	6	11	8

Other physical data

Depth (cm)		Bulk Density (kg/dm³)	Spec. Surf. Area (m2/g)	COLE (cm/cm)	Water Disp. Clay (%)	Clay (%)
0-10	:	-	-	-	10	19
10-33	:	-	-	-	13	23
33-65	:	-	-	-	18	36
65-90	:	-	-	-	15	44
90-120	:	-	-	-	1	3
120-150	:	-	-	-	5	6
150-174	:	-	-	-	6	8

Chemical characteristics:

Depth (cm)		pH H2O	pH KCl	EC 1 : 2.5 (mS/cm)	CaCO3 (%)	Org. C (%)	Org. N (%)	C / N	Exch. Acid (cmol/kg)	Exch. Al (cmol/kg)	Ca (cmol/kg)	Mg (cmol/kg)	K (cmol/kg)	Na (cmol/kg)	Sum Cations (cmol/kg)
0-10	:	6.6	-	1.04	-	2.90	0.13	22	-	-	17.0	6.6	1.4	1.4	26.4
10-33	:	7.0	-	0.91	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
33-65	:	7.6	-	1.44	-	1.40	0.07	20	-	-	15.0	9.4	0.9	4.5	29.8
65-90	:	7.2	-	2.06	-	1.20	0.06	20	-	-	11.0	9.4	0.8	5.6	26.8
90-120	:	5.6	-	2.22	-	0.90	0.04	23	-	-	7.0	7.8	0.7	6.1	21.6
120-150	:	5.6	-	2.45	-	-	-	-	-	-	4.6	7.3	0.6	5.6	18.1
150-174	:	6.0	-	2.81	-	-	-	-	-	-	4.5	12.0	1.0	8.8	26.3

Depth (cm)		CEC Soil (cmol/kg)	CEC Clay (cmol/kg)	CEC Org (cmol/kg)	ECEC (cmol/kg)	Base sat. (%)	Al sat. (%)	ESP (%)
0-10	:	26	-	-	-	102	-	-
10-33	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
33-65	:	25	-	-	-	119	-	-
65-90	:	24	-	-	-	112	-	-
90-120	:	22	-	-	-	98	-	-
120-150	:	22	-	-	-	82	-	-
150-174	:	23	-	-	-	114	-	-

Elemental composition of the soil:

Depth (cm)		SiO2 (wt%)	Al2O3 (wt%)	Fe2O3 (wt%)	CaO (wt%)	MgO (wt%)	K2O (wt%)	Na2O (wt%)	TiO2 (wt%)
0-10	:	78.7	13.5	3.9	0.5	0.6	0.60	0.3	1.1
10-33	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
33-65	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
65-90	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
90-120	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
120-150	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
150-174	:	80.0	13.3	4.0	0.2	0.7	0.50	0.7	1.09

Elemental composition of the soil:

Depth (cm)		MnO2 (wt%)	P2O5 (wt%)	LOI (wt%)	SiO2 / Al2O3 (mol/mol)	SiO2 / Fe2O3 (mol/mol)	SiO2 / R (mol/mol)	Al2O3 / Fe2O3 (mol/mol)
0-10	:	0.08	0.05	6.7	-	-	-	-
10-33	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
33-65	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
65-90	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
90-120	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
120-150	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
150-174	:	0.15	0.04	5.2	-	-	-	-

Profile description:

Ah 0-10 cm	:	dark grey (10YR 4/1, dry) very dark grey (10YR 3/1, moist), clay, weak medium platy to moderate coarse angular blocky, hard firm very sticky very plastic, few medium distinct clear mottles (10YR 4/1), few fine pores and common pores, few fine medium roots, very few soft segregations, gradual smooth boundary to,
Bw1 10-29 cm	:	(10YR 5/1.5, dry) (10YR 4/1.5, moist), clay, moderate very coarse angular blocky parting to moderate fine crumb, hard firm very sticky very plastic, (10 YR 4/1) and (10 YR 3/1), few fine pores and common pores, gradual smooth boundary to,
Bw2 29-60 cm	:	light grey (10YR 7/2, dry) grey (10YR 5/1, moist), clay, strong coarse angular blocky parting to strong fine angular blocky, very hard firm very sticky very plastic, few mottles (10 YR 3/1), few fine pores and common pores, gradual smooth boundary to,
Bw3 60-120 cm	:	(10YR 6/1.5, dry) grey (10YR 5/1, moist), clay, moderate very coarse angular blocky parting to moderate medium angular blocky, very hard firm very sticky very plastic, few mottles (10 YR 4/4), few fine pores and few pores, diffuse smooth boundary to,
Bw4 120-170 cm	:	(light) grey (10YR 6/1, dry) (10YR 5/1.5, moist), clay, moderate very coarse prismatic parting to moderate fine angular blocky, hard firm very sticky very plastic, few very fine pores,

Soil erosion type (1st entry)	:	sheet
Soil erosion type (2nd entry)	:	rill
Intensity of the soil erosion type (1st entry)	:	moderate
Intensity of the soil erosion type (2nd entry)	:	slight
Occurrence of soil aggradation	:	not apparent
Slope Stability	:	locally unstable

Current land use at the site	:	semi-natural grassland, grazed
Major crops	:	fodder crops
Main type of irrigation	:	no irrigation
Rotation scheme	:	crop rotation scheme not relevant
Vegetation Type;The natural vegetation at the site	:	grassland
Status of vegetation	:	degraded
Remarks on Land Use / Vegetation	:	VEGETATION: native forest was cleared. Original species: Acacia harpophilla and Casuarina cristata. LAND USE: sparse grazing of volunteer herbage. Nearby AT for dairy and fattening + ACW + ACS.

The altitude of the soil profile relative to mean sea level, specified in meters	:	304 m asl
Regional landform	:	plain
Topography of the surrounding country	:	undulating
Physiographic Unit in the immediate surrounding of the site	:	bottom of depression
The slope refers to the inclination of the land immediately surrounding the site. The measured or estimated slope angle is specified to the nearest per cent	:	0 %
The physiographic position of the site where the profile is located	:	depression
Form of the slope surrounding the site	:
Slope Aspect of the site	:	north-north-east

Depth of groundwater table	:	100 cm
Groundwater Top	:	80 cm
Groundwater Bottom	:	125 cm
Kind of groundwater table	:	groundwater table observed
Top Stagnating Layer	:	cm
Bottom Stagnating Layer	:	cm
Runoff	:	ponded
Flooding frequency	:	monthly
Nature of floodwater	:	brackish
Estimated permeablity (class) of least permeable part of the profile	:	moderate
Drainage Class	:	somewhat excessive
To Drainage Class	:	excessive
Moisture conditions of the profile: dry from -to	:	cm
Moisture conditions of the profile: moist from -to	:	90 cm
Wet From - To	:	85-150 cm

Microrelief type: small-scale differences in relief in the direct vicinity of the site	:	gilgai
Microrelief Pattern	:	reticulate
Microrelief Height	:	12
Rockiness	:	none
Stoniness	:	fairly stony
Average size of stones	:	10
Shape of stones (on average)	:	platy or flat
Cracks	:	small cracks (width less than 1 cm, or depth less than 50 cm)
Slaking of aggregates by tillage, rainfall or frost	:	surface slaked; sorted sand/silt, some clay films
Evidence of salt	:	non-saline
Evidence of alkali	:	non-alkaline

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Reference soil Australia 4: Vertisol