Reference soil Australia 32: Podzol

AU032

Podzols mainly occur in cool temperate and moist regions on coarse textured materials. Areas of Podzols have also been recorded from wet, tropical regions, notably the Amazon basin, southern central Africa and southeast Asia.

Characteristics

Soils having a spodic horizon (a dark coloured subsurface horizon with illuvial amorphous alumino-organic substances) within 200 cm from the soil surface, underlying an albic, histic, umbric or ochric horizon, or an anthropedogenic horizon less than 50 cm thick. Podzols are probably the most extensively researched group of soils.

Distribution of Podzols (rough estimation supplied by soilgrids)

Reference soil AU032: Podzols

Classification

WRB 1998

Hapli-Densic- Podzol

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1988

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1974

Haplic Podzol

Orthic Podzol

Local classification:	HAS: Podzol; FK: Uc2.22

Other classification

USDA-SCS (1975)

Haplorthod ustic sandy siliceous thermic

Profile description

Ah1 0-3 cm	greyish brown (2.5Y 5/2, moist)Description sand,crumb,highly porous (>60 vol%),gradual boundary to,
Ah2 3-20 cm	(10YR 5.5/1, moist)Description sand,crumb,highly porous (>60 vol%),many roots,diffuse boundary to,
AE 20-30 cm	light brownish grey (10YR 6/2, moist)Description sand,crumb,(10YR 7/1),highly porous (>60 vol%),few roots,diffuse boundary to,
E 30-90 cm	light grey (10YR 7/2, moist)Description sand,single grain,(10YR 7/2) and (10YR 8/2),highly porous (>60 vol%),few roots,diffuse boundary to,
BE 90-100 cm	(10YR 8/5, moist)Description sand,single grain,highly porous (>60 vol%),diffuse boundary to,
Bh1 100-116 cm	(10YR 6.5/5, moist)Description sand,single grain,highly porous (>60 vol%),few roots,diffuse boundary to,
Bh2 116-136 cm	yellowish brown (10YR 5/4, moist)Description sand,single grain,(10YR 7/8) and (10YR 4/3),highly porous (>60 vol%),few roots,strongly cemented ortstein pans,diffuse boundary to,
Bh3 136-160 cm	brownish yellow (10YR 6/8, moist)Description sand,single grain,(10YR 5/6) and (10YR 4/3),highly porous (>60 vol%),weakly cemented ortstein pans,diffuse boundary to,
160-200 cm	dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4, moist)Description sand,single grain,(10YR 7/6) and (10YR 5/8),highly porous (>60 vol%),weakly cemented ortstein pans,diffuse boundary to,
C 200-210 cm	light grey (10YR 7/2, moist)Description sand,single grain,highly porous (>60 vol%),few roots,

Kind 1 (parent material) ; Parker (eds), 1984	mixed lithology and composition
Mode of accumulation or deposition of parent material	eolian sand
Remarks on Parent Materials	Quaternary aeolian quartz sand
Soil Depth	210cm
Texture of parent material (second entry)	sandy

Remarks on Land Use / Vegetation	VEGETATION: woodland of Eucalyptus baxteri (stringybark), Banksia ornata (honey-suckle), Pteridium esculentum (bracken fern) and sedges
Major vegetation type; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	semi-deciduous woodland

Altitude	43m
Physiographic Unit	slope
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.	beach ridge
Slope Aspect	east
Topography; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	undulating

Drainage class ; FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description	somewhat excessive
Kind of ground water table (USDA, 1979)	no groundwater table observed
Moist From - To	0-210cm

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Reference soil Australia 32: Podzol

Characteristics

Reference soil AU032: Podzols

Classification