Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 9.1
Broad Soil Groups and Special Soil Groups for
New South Wales
Broad Soil Groups for Western Region of NSW
a
Soft red soils
Hard red soils
Solonized brown soils
Texture contrast soils
Skeletal soils
Heavy soils
Granite soils
Brown gibber soils
Desert loam soils
Special Soil Groups for NSW
b
Sodic and Dispersible Soils
Hardsetting Surface Soils or Fragile, Light-textured Surface Soils
Self-mulching Soils
Acid Surface Soils
Acid Sulfate Soils
Aggregated or Subplastic Clays
Expansive Soils
Saline Soils
Desert loam Soils
a
Adapted from Murphy and Murphy (2000)
b
Adapted from Murphy et al. (2000)
Table 9.2
Soil Groups for South Australia
Soil Groups for South Australia
a
Calcareous soils
Shallow soils on calcrete
Gradational soils with highly calcareous lower subsoils
Hard red-brown texture contrast soils with highly calcareous lower subsoils
Cracking clay soils
Deep loamy texture contrast soils with brown or dark subsoils
Sand over clay soils
Deep sands
Highly leached sands
Ironstone soils
Shallow moderately deep acidic soils on rock
Shallow soils on rock
Deep uniform to gradational soils
Wet soils
Volcanic ash soils
Adapted from PIRSA Land Information (2001)
a
landscape mapping units, but it is too complex for communication with those lacking a pedological
background (the vast majority of users of land resource assessment).
The system developed in South Australia (PIRSA Land Information, 2001) sought to deÝne a
series of soil classes, which reÞected the morphological characteristics having the greatest impact
on agricultural land use and management in South Australia. The initial aim was to deÝne sufÝcient
classes to allow for meaningful discrimination of different soils, but not so many as to overwhelm
the user. The target was 50 classes. In the end, 61 classes were deÝned.
The 61 classes are aggregated into 15 groups (Table 9.2). Classes within a group may vary in
terms of surface or subsoil texture, presence of pans, pH trend, subsoil structure and so on. For
example, calcareous soils are widespread in South Australia, as are soils with calcrete pans at
