Land Unit Master

Land Unit Information Sheet

Land system name: Ravenswood

Land unit: RD2

General description This land unit represents the moderately-well, and well-drained Vertosols (uniform clay soils), which have been modified to varying extents by a sandy wash layer. Gidgee seems to thrive on clay subsoils, which although having a high nutrient status also have a high salt content. Mid- tall, mid-dense open forests of Acacia cambagei (gidgee) with Eremophila mitchellii (false sandalwood) as understorey predominate, and a sparse ground layer of Sporobolus caroli (fairy grass), Atriplex meulleri (Mueller's saltbush), Sclerolaena birchii (gidgee burr) and Tripogon liliiformis (5 minute grass) is typical of this unit. In some areas the gidgee has been cleared and replaced with Cenchrus ciliaris (buffel). Regional ecosystem 10.9.6 is predominant.

Site characteristics Landform element Average slope Plain 1% Site drainage Soil permeability Moderately well drained Slowly permeable Flooding risk Inundation risk Low Low Potential recharge to groundwater Soil depth Low Very deep; 1.5 - 5.0m Present land use Grazing

Susceptibility to land degradation processes

Sheet erosion Gully erosion Wind erosion Salting Moderate Low Low High

This information has been generated from the Desert Uplands Land Resource Database. The Environmental Protection Agency accepts no liability for any decisions or actions taken on the basis of this information. State of Queensland. Environmental Protection Agency 2004.

7/12/2005 Land Unit RD2 - page 1 Representative site number: 871

Soil classification Australian Soil Classification Principle Profile Form VE AB DF BZ - E Q S X Uf6.53 - 6/1/004

General soil description A uniform clay with a reddish brown sandy clay topsoil and a heavy clay at depth.

Soil profile morphology

Horizon Horizon no Depth Description A11 1 0.00 - 0.04 Reddish brown sandy clay; No mottles; very few small pebbles angular Charcoal coarse fragments; very few small pebbles subrounded Ironstone coarse fragments; very few small pebbles subangular Quartz coarse fragments; Weak 10-20 mm subangular blocky structure; no segregations; Dry weak; Abrupt to; B21 2 0.04 - 1.05 Brown light clay; No mottles; no coarse fragments; Very few (0 - 2 %) Medium (2 -6 mm) Gypseous Soft segregations Dry weak; Abrupt to; B22y 3 1.05 - 1.70 Reddish yellow light clay; No mottles; no coarse fragments; Very many (50 - 100 %) Medium (2 -6 mm) Gypseous Crystals Dry weak; Clear to; B23 4 1.70 - 2.00+ Pinkish grey heavy clay; Many 20-50% Medium 5-15mm prominent red mottles; no coarse fragments; no segregations; Dry very firm;

Soil chemical analysis P S H A D P h a G N o O S o i l H S l o u s m s r D r t u o t r o l s p i

a m a t g a z c t e d p a a r p v e r s k a o o p i i t i H t i e h r z s n c t e i n u n n t s n e o l o i i h i n i s

u t t i u r g c % n n r o e y t m m u

o n n s . t

A11 1 0.00 - 0.04 5.8 1.15 Moderate Satisfactory Very low 0.01 Low Low N Y Moderate B21 2 0.04 - 1.05 6.2 4.34 Deficient Low Very low - Very high - Severe Low Y Y Nil

7/12/2005 Land Unit RD2 - page 2 Field sites within this land unit (see technical report for original site nos.) Site code Site type 849 DUSLARA Primary 852 DUSLARA Tertiary 869 DUSLARA Tertiary 870 DUSLARA Tertiary 871 DUSLARA Primary 874 DUSLARA Primary 875 DUSLARA Tertiary 885 DUSLARA Primary 887 DUSLARA Tertiary 888 DUSLARA Tertiary 893 DUSLARA Tertiary 902 DUSLARA Tertiary 915 DUSLARA Primary 918 DUSLARA Primary 4622 Corveg

Summary of plant species within this land unit

Species Common name Abutilon arenarium - Abutilon fraseri dwarf lantern flower*, Fraser's chinese lantern Acacia cambagei gidgee*, stinking wattle, silver gidgee Acacia coriacea desert oak, wirewood, dogwood, wiry wattle Acacia farnesiana (1,5) mimosa bush*, cassie, cassie flower, mimosa, needlebush, north-west curara, prickly mimosa, prickly mimosa bush, prickly moses, sheep's briar, sponge wattle, sweet acacia, thorny acacia Acacia tephrina boree* Achyranthes aspera chaff flower*, chaff burr Alternanthera angustifolia alternanthera, narrow leaf joyweed Alternanthera denticulata lesser joyweed*, joyweed, rock joyweed Alternanthera nodiflora joyweed,* common joyweed, native carpetweed Amyema quandang grey mistletoe Apophyllum anomalum broom bush*, warrier bush Aristida latifolia feathertop wiregrass*, curly wiregrass Aristida sp. three-awn speargrass*, wiregrass Astrebla sp. - Astrebla squarrosa bull Mitchell grass* Atalaya hemiglauca whitewood*, cattle bush Atriplex muelleri Mueller's saltbush, annual saltbush, green saltbush, lagoon saltbush, Queensland saltbush Atriplex sp. saltbush* Bursaria incana hoary blackthorn*, prickly pine*, mock orange Calotis squamigera - Capparis lasiantha nipan,* nepine*, split jack *, wait-a-while Carissa ovata currant bush*, blackberry*, kunkerberry*, baroom bush, burrum bush Cenchrus ciliaris (1,5) buffel grass*, African foxtail, black buffel grass, Rhodesian foxtail, slender buffel grass Centipeda minima spreading sneezeweed, gukwonderuk, sneezeweed Chamaesyce drummondii caustic-weed*, caustic creeper, creeping spurge, flat spurge, mat spurge, spurgewort

7/12/2005 Land Unit RD2 - page 3 Species Common name Chenopodium hubbardii fishweed Chloris divaricata slender chloris,* slender windmill grass, small chloris Chloris sp. - Chrysopogon fallax golden beardgrass*, golden-beard grass, ribbon grass Cyperus fulvus sticky sedge Cyperus gracilis slender sedge*, whisker grass* Cyperus tuberosus (1,5) sedge Dactyloctenium radulans button grass*, coast button grass, eight-day grass, finger grass, small crowsfoot Dichanthium sericeum Queensland bluegrass*, silky bluegrass Dissocarpus biflorus var. - cephalocarpus Echinochloa colona (1,5) awnless barnyard grass*, jungle rice, river grass, wamp grass, zebra grass Enchylaena tomentosa ruby saltbush*, barrier saltbush*, berry cotton bush Enneapogon lindleyanus canetop nineawn*, nine-awn grass*, prickly couch*, wiry nineawn, bottlewasher Enneapogon polyphyllus leafy nineawn*, limestone bottlewashers, oatgrass Enneapogon sp. bottlewashers* Eragrostis lacunaria purple lovegrass*, lovegrass, neverfail Eragrostis setifolia neverfail grass*, narrow-leaf neverfail, bristly lovegrass, neverfail, perennial lovegrass, plains grass Eragrostis sp. lovegrass Eragrostis speciosa handsome lovegrass Eremophila deserti (Myoporum deserti) Ellangowan poison bush*, turkey bush Eremophila mitchellii sandalbox*, bastard sandalwood*, budda, false sandalwood, sandalwood Eucalyptus camaldulensis river red gum*, creek gum, flooded gum, Murray red gum, red gum, river gum Evolvulus alsinoides tropical speedwell*, baby blue eyes* Fimbristylis dichotoma common fringe-rush*, fimbri sedge*, eight-day grass Flindersia dissosperma leopardwood*, scrub leopardwood Hakea leucoptera needlewood, kulua, needle hakea, needlebush, pin bush, silver needlewood, water bush, water tree Hakea lorea corkbark, bootlace, corkwood, witinti, bootlace oak Lysiana subfalcata northern mistletoe Lysiphyllum carronii ebony tree*, red bauhinia*, small-leaved bauhinia*, northern bean tree, bauhinia, pegunny, Queensland ebony Malvastrum americanum (1,5) spiked mallow*, spiked malvastrum, bastard side-retusa, spiked false mallow, malvastrum, mulberry mallow, wild mulberry Oldenlandia mitrasacmoides - Oxychloris scariosa winged chloris*, winged windmill grass Panicum decompositum var. native millet decompositum Panicum effusum hairy panic*, branched panic, diffuse panic, effuse panic, poison panic, two-colour panic Panicum sp. panicum Paspalidium caespitosum brigalow grass* Polycarpaea breviflora - Portulaca bicolor Portulaca oleracea pigweed*, common pigweed, common purslane, munyeroo, neverdie, perennial pigweed, portulaca weed, purslane, red pigweed, purselane Ptilotus exaltatus var. exaltatus tall mulla mulla*, Prince-of-Wales feather Ptilotus obovatus var. obovatus smoke bush, silvertail

7/12/2005 Land Unit RD2 - page 4 Species Common name Rostellularia adscendens dwarf justicia*, pink tongues Salsola kali soft roly-poly*, buckbush, Russian thistle Santalum lanceolatum plum bush*, sandalwood*, wild plum*, cherry bush, native plumbush, northern sandalwood, plumwood, true sandalwood, bush plum Sclerolaena anisacanthoides yellow burr*, brigalow burr, yellow copperburr Sclerolaena bicornis var. bicornis goathead burr Sclerolaena birchii galvanised burr*, blueburr, galvanised roly-poly, Hermidale lucern, Woolerino burr Sclerolaena muricata var. muricata black roly-poly*, prickly roly-poly* Sclerolaena sp. copperburr Sclerolaena tricuspis giant red burr*, streaked poverty-bush, three-spined poverty-bush, poverty bush, streaked copperburr, three-spined bassia, three-spined copperburr, three-spined roly-poly, three-spined saltbush Senna artemisioides butter bush*, desert cassia*, silver cassia*, silver desert cassia* Sida corrugata corrugated sida*, dwarf sida, native sida, sageweed, variable sida Sida fibulifera pin sida, silver sida Sida filiformis fine sida Sida sp. - Sida trichopoda high sida*, narrow-leaf sida Solanum ellipticum potato bush*, hillside flannel bush, potato weed, tomato bush, velvet nightshade, velvet potato bush, wild gooseberry Sporobolus caroli fairy grass*, yakka grass*, pretty sporobolus, small pepper grass Sporobolus sp. - Streptoglossa odora mintbush Tragus australianus small burr grass*, sago burrgrass, stockgrass, tickgrass Triodia pungens soft spinifex, gummy spinifex, spinifex Tripogon loliiformis five minute grass*, eight-day grass, rye beettle grass Wahlenbergia communis tufted bluebell*, native bluebell Waltheria indica waltheria Xanthium occidentale (Xanthium Noogoora burr*, beach cockleburr, burrweed, clotburr, cockleburr, pungens) (1,5) European cockleburr, large cockleburr, Italian cockleburr, rough cockleburr, sheep's burr Xanthium spinosum (1,5) Bathurst burr*, burrweed, cat's eggs, common cockleburr, prickly burrweed, spiny clotburr, spiny cockleburr

1. Introduced plant 2. Consider for protection 3. Pending registration 4. Rare plant 5. Environmental weed 6. Endangered plant 7. Vulnerable plant 8. Agricultural pest * Wildnet preferred common name; Species in brackets refer to previously known name

Special features Implications for land use The acacia woodlands support high abundances of The overall soil profile has a high nutrient status, but with a particular animals, including arboreal mammals phosphorus deficiency - most soils in the Desert Uplands are (particularly where the woodlands are near deficient in phosphorus. watercourses), arboreal reptiles, and woodland bird The soils have a high salt content, usually below a depth of species that prefer a dense canopy structure. 1m. The relatively elevated position of this unit within the landscape reduces the immediate risk of salinity, but changes in land management (e.g. reduced vegetative cover and increased evaporation from the soil surface draws salt from the subsoil to the surface) could exacerbate the current situation. Vegetative cover plays an important role in preventing salinity and maintaining biodiversity. This land unit is included in Land Management Unit 11.

7/12/2005 Land Unit RD2 - page 5 This information has been generated from the Desert Uplands Land Resource Database. The Environmental Protection Agency accepts no liability for any decisions or actions taken on the basis of this information. State of Queensland. Environmental Protection Agency 2004.

7/12/2005 Land Unit RD2 - page 6