Reference soil Australia 29: Plinthosol

AU029

Plinthosols occur mainly in the moist tropical regions in low-lying positions where iron from the soil and adjacent uplands is accumulating.

Characteristics

Soils having either a petroplinthic horizon within 50 cm from the soil surface, or a plinthic horizon which either starts within 50 cm from the soil surface, or within 100 cm from the soil surface if it underlies an albic horizon or a horizon with stagnic properties.

Distribution of Plinthosols (rough estimation supplied by soilgrids)

Reference soil AU029: Plinthosols

Classification

WRB 2006

WRB 1998

Acric-Stagnic- Plinthosol (Albic Abruptic Endodystric)

Albi-Acric- Plinthosol (Stagnic Abruptic)

40-130 cm	argic horizon
5-30 cm	albic horizon
60-130 cm	plinthic horizon
-	reducing conditions
-	stagnic colour pattern
-	abrupt textural change

0-5 cm	ochric horizon
40-130 cm	argic horizon
5-30 cm	albic horizon
60-130 cm	plinthic horizon
-	stagnic

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1988

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1974

Stagni-Albic Plinthosol

Eutric Planosol petric

0-5 cm	ochric A horizon
40-130 cm	argic B horizon
5-30 cm	albic E horizon
-	plinthite
-	stagnic

0-5 cm	ochric A horizon
30-130 cm	argillic B horizon
5-20 cm	albic E horizon
-	abrupt textural change
-	plinthite

Local classification:	HAS: Lateritic Podzolic Soil; FK: Dy3.71

Other classification

USDA-SCS (1975)

Paleudalf udic fine mixed mesic

Physical characteristics

Particle size distribution

Depth (cm)	Gravel % v/v	very coarse sand % w/w	coarse sand % w/w	medium sand % w/w	fine sand % w/w	very fine sand % w/w	Total sand % w/w	coarse silt % w/w	fine silt % w/w	Total silt % w/w	Clay % w/w
0-5	15	14.6	7.2	12.5	19.4	8.4	62.1	16.1	12.1	28.2	9.7
5-20	19	12.5	6.4	11.9	19.4	8.6	58.8	16.5	14.5	31.0	10.2
20-30	23	13.4	5.6	10.6	17.1	7.8	54.5	16.3	13.9	30.2	15.3
30-40	71	11.0	5.0	9.4	15.1	5.8	46.3	13.5	12.5	26.0	27.7
40-55	76	15.5	3.2	4.7	5.6	2.9	31.9	6.7	7.2	13.9	54.2
55-60	76	22.4	5.2	4.7	4.9	3.1	40.3	10.5	10.5	21.0	38.7
60-67	72	20.8	3.9	4.9	9.1	6.6	45.3	12.8	16.6	29.4	25.3
67-80	34	5.6	3.5	5.1	10.3	4.7	29.2	10.9	18.1	29.0	41.8
90-130	24	2.5	2.2	4.4	7.0	2.9	19	7.6	8.6	16.2	64.8
80-90	21	4.8	3.0	5.2	8.4	3.5	24.9	8.2	8.6	16.8	58.3
130-155	19	1.0	1.8	3.6	9.0	4.2	19.6	7.5	22.4	29.9	50.5
155-180	14	0.9	0.6	1.4	3.3	3.7	9.9	8.4	18.8	27.2	62.9

Water retention characteristics

Depth (cm)	Bulk density kg/dm³	Spec. Surf. Area m²/g	COLE cm/cm	Water disp. clay %	Clay % w/w
0-5	-	-	-	-	9.7
5-20	-	-	-	-	10.2
20-30	-	-	-	-	15.3
30-40	-	-	-	-	27.7
40-55	-	-	-	-	54.2
55-60	-	-	-	-	38.7
60-67	-	-	-	-	25.3
67-80	-	-	-	-	41.8
90-130	-	-	-	-	64.8
80-90	-	-	-	-	58.3
130-155	-	-	-	-	50.5
155-180	-	-	-	-	62.9

Chemical data

Depth (cm)	pH H2O	pHKCl	EC 1: 2.5 dS/m	CaCO3 % w/w	C % w/w	N %	C / N	Exch. Acid cmol(c)/kg	Exch. Al cmol(c)/kg	Ca cmol(c)/kg	Mg cmol(c)/kg	K cmol(c)/kg	Na cmol(c)/kg	Sum Cations cmol(c)/kg
0-5	7.0	6.8	-	-	1.84	0.14	13	-	-	7.9	0.0	0.3	0.1	8.3
5-20	6.6	6.0	-	-	0.71	7.00	0	-	-	4.2	0.0	0.3	0.0	4.5
20-30	6.7	5.7	-	-	0.32	0.03	11	-	-	3.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	3.3
30-40	6.4	5.4	-	-	0.40	0.04	10	-	-	3.9	0.1	0.4	0.1	4.5
40-55	6.3	5.2	-	-	0.42	0.05	8	-	-	4.9	0.0	0.4	0.1	5.4
55-60	6.2	5.2	-	-	0.33	0.04	8	-	-	5.6	0.0	0.3	0.1	6
60-67	6.4	5.2	-	-	0.09	0.02	5	-	-	2.8	0.0	0.2	0.1	3.1
67-80	5.4	3.9	-	-	0.10	0.02	7	-	-	7.1	0.3	0.4	0.5	4.1
90-130	6.2	5.0	-	-	0.14	2.00	0	-	-	3.6	0.1	0.3	0.1	8.3
80-90	5.7	4.8	-	-	0.11	0.03	4	-	-	5.5	0.2	0.4	0.2	6.3
130-155	5.1	2.7	-	-	0.03	0.02	2	-	-	10.8	0.5	0.4	0.7	12.4
155-180	4.9	2.7	-	-	0.07	0.02	4	-	-	13.7	0.6	0.5	1.0	15.8

Depth (cm)	Base sat. %	CEC soil cmol(c)/kg	CEC clay cmol(c)/kg	CEC org cmol(c)/kg	ECEC cmol(c)/kg	Al sat. %	ESP %
0-5	82	10.1	38	6.4	-	-	-
5-20	75	6	35	2.5	-	-	-
20-30	66	5	26	1.1	-	-	0
30-40	56	8.1	24	1.4	-	-	1
40-55	58	9.3	14	1.5	-	-	1
55-60	45	13.3	31	1.2	-	-	1
60-67	44	7.1	27	0.3	-	-	1
67-80	37	11.2	26	0.4	-	-	1
90-130	40	20.7	31	0.5	-	-	2
80-90	41	15.4	26	0.4	-	-	1
130-155	47	26.2	52	0.1	-	-	3
155-180	50	31.6	50	0.2	-	-	3

Profile description

Ah 0-5 cm	dark greyish brown (10YR 4/2, moist) light brownish grey (10YR 6/2, dry)fine sandy loam slightly gravelly,weak very fine and fine platy parting to weak medium crumb,hard friable slightly sticky slightly plastic,many very fine pores moderately porous (40-60 vol%),many very fine roots,very few fine and medium gravel weathered quartz very few fine and medium gravel weathered chert fragments,non calcareous 10% HCl,gradual boundary to,
E1 5-20 cm	light grey (10YR 7/2, dry) greyish brown (10YR 5/2, moist)sandy loam gravelly,very coarse platy parting to very fine crumb,hard friable sticky slightly plastic,many very fine pores moderately porous (40-60 vol%),many very fine roots,very few small manganiferous nodules,few fine and medium gravel weathered quartz few fine and medium gravel weathered chert fragments,non calcareous 10% HCl,clear boundary to,
E2 20-30 cm	brown (10YR 5/3, moist) pale brown (10YR 6/3, dry)sandy loam gravelly,porous massive to very fine crumb,hard friable sticky slightly plastic,many very fine pores moderately porous (40-60 vol%),many very fine roots,frequent fine and medium gravel weathered quartz frequent fine and medium gravel weathered chert fragments,non calcareous 10% HCl,gradual boundary to,
2EB 30-40 cm	brown (10YR 5/3, moist) pale brown (10YR 6/3, dry)sandy clay loam very gravelly,massive,hard friable sticky plastic,common very fine pores moderately porous (40-60 vol%),many very fine roots,very frequent fine and medium gravel weathered quartz very frequent fine and medium gravel weathered chert fragments,non calcareous 10% HCl,clear boundary to,
2Btg 40-60 cm	(10YR 5/5, moist) (10YR 5/5, dry) clay loam very gravelly,massive,hard firm sticky plastic,common medium distinct clear mottles (5Y 5/3) and common medium distinct mottles (2.5YR 3/2),few very fine pores slightly porous (<40 vol%),many very fine roots,very frequent fine and medium gravel weathered quartz very frequent fine and medium gravel weathered chert fragments,non calcareous 10% HCl,clear boundary to,
2Btom 60-67 cm	pale olive (5Y 6/3, moist) light grey (5Y 7/2, dry)clay loam very gravelly,massive,very hard firm sticky plastic,many heterogeneous distinct clear mottles (5YR 4/6) and many heterogeneous distinct mottles (10YR 6/6),few very fine pores slightly porous (<40 vol%),very few small manganiferous nodules,very frequent fine and medium gravel weathered quartz very frequent fine and medium gravel weathered chert fragments,non calcareous 10% HCl,gradual boundary to,
3Btg 67-130 cm	yellowish brown (10YR 5/8, moist) brownish yellow (10YR 6/6, dry)clay gravelly,weak prismatic to moderate angular blocky,hard firm sticky very plastic,many heterogeneous distinct clear mottles (10R 4/8) and many heterogeneous distinct mottles (10YR 5/2),few very fine pores slightly porous (<40 vol%),frequent fine and medium gravel weathered quartz frequent fine and medium gravel weathered chert fragments,non calcareous 10% HCl,diffuse boundary to,
3BCg 130-155 cm	pale olive (5Y 6/3, moist) light grey (5Y 7/2, dry)clay gravelly,massive to moderate angular blocky,very hard very sticky very plastic,many heterogeneous distinct clear mottles (10R 4/8) and many heterogeneous distinct mottles (5Y 6/3),few very fine pores slightly porous (<40 vol%),common fine and medium gravel weathered quartz frequent fine and medium gravel weathered chert fragments,non calcareous 10% HCl,diffuse boundary to,
3C 155-180 cm	brownish yellow (10YR 6/8, moist)clay slightly gravelly,massive,very hard sticky very plastic,many heterogeneous distinct clear mottles (10YR 6/2) and many heterogeneous distinct mottles (5Y 7/3),few very fine pores slightly porous (<40 vol%),few small soft ferruginous nodules,few fine and medium gravel weathered quartz few fine and medium gravel weathered chert fragments,non calcareous 10% HCl,

Kind 1 (parent material) ; Parker (eds), 1984	sediment, unconsolidated
Mode of accumulation or deposition of parent material	lacustrine sediments
Remarks on Parent Materials	lake sediments, principally fine-textured
Soil Depth	160cm
Texture of parent material	clayey
Texture of parent material (second entry)	clayey
Weathering Resistance	moderate
General characterization of the status of weathering of solid rock	partially or moderately

Land improvements ; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	land clearing
Land use or vegetation in the immediate vicinity of the site	high level arable farming
Remarks on Land Use / Vegetation	VEGETATION: Originally Eucalyptus viminalis (ribbon gum) and E. nova-anglica (peppermint gum) LANDUSE: In the surrounding district the soil is used for grazing on native and improved pastures with limited cropping to cereals for forage
Major vegetation type; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	semi-deciduous woodland

Altitude	1006m
Physiographic Unit	recent terrace 3 m above present floodplain
Physiographic position of the site	slope
Regional landform; McDonald, R.C., Isbell, R.F. et all, 1984; Australian soil and land survey Field Handbook, Inkata Press, Melbourne.	alluvial terrace
Slope	2%
Slope Aspect	east
Form of the slope surrounding the site	straight
Topography; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	flat or almost flat

Drainage class ; FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description	imperfect
Flooding frequency (FAO, 1986)	never
Kind of ground water table (USDA, 1979)	no groundwater table observed
Moist From - To	0-185cm
Estimated permeability (class) of least permeable part of the profile	slow
Estimated run off (class)	slow

Evidence of alkali ; Soil Survey Manual USDA, 1951	non-alkaline
Slaking of aggregates by tillage, rainfall or frost (USDA/SCS, 1979)	surface partly slaked, round smooth aggregates
Rock outcrop class (FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description)	none
Evidence of salt; Soil Survey Manual USDA, 1951	non-saline
Surface stoniness class (FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description)	none

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Reference soil Australia 29: Plinthosol

Characteristics

Reference soil AU029: Plinthosols

Classification