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Soils of the Ivanhoe West Bank East Kimberley Western Australia

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Soils of the Ivanhoe West Bank East Kimberley Western Australia Research Library Resource management technical reports Natural resources research 1-1-1996 Soils of the Ivanhoe West Bank East Kimberley Western Australia C Grose N Schoknecht Follow this and additional works at: https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/rmtr Part of the Soil Science Commons Recommended Citation Grose, C, and Schoknecht, N. (1996), Soils of the Ivanhoe West Bank East Kimberley Western Australia. Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia, Perth. Report 155. This report is brought to you for free and open access by the Natural resources research at Research Library. It has been accepted for inclusion in Resource management technical reports by an authorized administrator of Research Library. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Soils of the Ivanhoe West Bank East Kimberley Western Australia by Noel Schoknecht and Chris Grose March 1996 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT TECHNICAL REPORT 155 SOILS OF THE IVANHOE WEST BANK Summary A brief assessment of the soils, and their suitability for irrigated agriculture, of 2,064 ha on the Ivanhoe West Bank was conducted in May-June 1994. Sandy or loamy soils occur on broad levees adjacent to the Ord River, and areas of ‘black soil’ and ‘red soil’ plains occur behind the levees. Some areas of the red soil plain and levees are deeply dissected, and occasional active erosion is evident. A preliminary assessment of the suitability of the map units for flood and spray or trickle irrigation has been made: For flood irrigation 446 ha (22%) are considered suitable, 955 ha (46%) marginally suitable, and 663 ha (32%) unsuitable or not assessed. For spray or trickle irrigation 1,336 ha (65%) are considered suitable, 65 ha (3%) marginally suitable, and 663 ha (32%) unsuitable or not assessed. 1 SOILS OF THE IVANHOE WEST BANK Contents Page 1. Introduction 3 2. History of land use 4 3. Climate 5 4. Geology and physiography 5 5. Native vegetation 6 6. Survey methods 7 7. Map units 8 8. Soils 11 9. Land use interpretation 15 Suitability of map units for irrigated agriculture 15 Salinity and drainage 18 References 19 Appendices 1. Common map key 20 2. Site locations and occurrence in map units 26 3. Vegetation list 27 Tables 1. Areas of map units 10 2. Forms of Cununurra clay found in different surveys 12 3. Summary of suitability for flood irrigation 17 4. Summary of suitability for spray or trickle irrigation 17 Map Back pocket 2 SOILS OF THE IVANHOE WEST BANK 1. Introduction This study was requested by the Ord Stage 2 Steering Committee to provide basic soil and landscape information for an area of land known as the Ivanhoe West Bank. This information has been used to enable an assessment of the suitability of the study area for irrigated agriculture and to assist planning for possible expansion of the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA). The Ivanhoe West Bank covers 2,064 ha situated on the western side of the Ord River, opposite the Frank Wise Research Institute, about 15 kilometres NNW of Kununurra. Location of the Ivanhoe West Bank and relation to other potential irrigation areas. 3 SOILS OF THE IVANHOE WEST BANK 2. History of land use The area was first settled in the 1880s and has been used for cattle grazing since then. The survey area is presently within Ivanhoe Station and is used for grazing of Brahman, Shorthorn and Brahman-Shorthorn cross cattle on native grasslands and woodlands. The survey area was accessed from Kununurra by crossing the Ord River at Ivanhoe Crossing. 4 SOILS OF THE IVANHOE WEST BANK 3. Climate The area is semi-arid with summer monsoonal rains. Average rainfall for Kununurra is 778 mm, most of which falls in the four months December to M arch, with the rest of the year a virtual drought. The mean maximum temperatures range from 30.50C in July to 38.80C in November and mean minima range from 14.20C in July to 24.80C in December. The area is virtually frost-free (Delane 1987). 4. Geology and physiography The Ivanhoe West Bank comprises Quaternary alluvium (primarily Qa, and minor Czs - Cambridge Gulf 1:250,000 Geology map) derived from regular flooding and alluvial deposition from the Ord River. Fine to coarse-grained sands have been deposited adjacent to the river to form levee banks. Behind the levee banks are finer grained deposits, including significant areas of clayey black soil alluvium. Coarse sands, gravels and stones are deposited on the inside of meander loops beside the Ord River. M inor rock outcrops adjacent to the Ord River are composed of Devonian quartz sandstone (south of Button’s Crossing) and Lower Cambrian basalt (Ivanhoe Crossing). The Ord River cutting into levee soils adjacent to the survey area near Button’s Crossing. 5 SOILS OF THE IVANHOE WEST BANK 5. Native vegetation The native vegetation is predominantly savanna comprising a tussock grassland understorey and scattered shrub or tree overstorey (Beard 1990), or open woodlands. Plant names are from Wheeler et al. (1992). The main tree on the cracking clay plains is Lysiphyllum cunninghamii (bauhinia). Trees and shrubs on the red soil plains, levees and sandy colluvial slopes include Eucalyptus tectifica (grey box), E. microtheca (flooded box), Adansonia gregorii (boab), Lysiphyllum cunninghamii (bauhinia), E. curtipes, E. pruniosa (silverleaf box), E. confertiflora (roughleaf cabbage gum) and Hakea arborescens (common hakea). Common grasses of the cracking clay plains include Iseilema vaginiflorum (red Flinders grass), Aristida latifolia (feathertop wiregrass) and Astrebla squarrosa (bull M itchell grass). Themeda triandra (kangaroo grass), Heteropogon contortus (bunch or black speargrass) and Panicum airoides (creeping panic) occur on the levees. A range of grasses including Sporobulus australasicus (Australian dropseed), Brachyachne convergens (common native couch), Themeda triandra (kangaroo grass) and less commonly Aristida hygrometrica (northern kerosene grass) and Enneapogon purpurascens (purple nineawn) grows on the red soil plains. 6 SOILS OF THE IVANHOE WEST BANK 6. Survey methods Previous surveys The first survey of the area was a reconnaissance of about 300,000 ha between Wyndham and the Western Australian-Northern Territory border in 1944 by a team from the Lands and Surveys Department. The soils were described by Burvill (1991). This survey was conducted to identify areas with potential for irrigated agriculture. The Ivanhoe West Bank (called Ivanhoe homestead in Burvill’s report) was identified as an area of potential, but no detailed soils information was gathered. A land system survey of the Ord-Victoria area was conducted in 1949 and 1952 and published by Stewart et al. (1970). Within this survey, the alluvial Knox Creek Plain was described as the Ivanhoe Land System. The soils of the Ivanhoe Plain on the east of the Ord River were described by Aldrick et al. in 1990. Ivanhoe West Bank survey Preliminary map units were marked on 1:20,000 colour photographs (taken July 1993), and examined in the field considering features such as soil, landform, microrelief and vegetation. Fieldwork was conducted by Noel Schoknecht and Chris Grose over six days during May and June 1994. Fifty sites were examined. Soil profiles were obtained by pushing a 50 mm steel tube down to about 100 to 120 cm with a Gemco drill rig. Each profile was examined for a minimum of texture, colour, structure, depth of horizons, pH and electrical conductivity (EC). Soils were described according to the Australian Soil and Land Survey Field Handbook (McDonald et al. 1990) and the accompanying WA Technical Report (Purdie 1993). On the basis of the profile descriptions, general observations, information from previous surveys and discussions with Kununurra staff, soils were described, map units delineated and assessments made. 7 SOILS OF THE IVANHOE WEST BANK 7. Map units A common map key to link the map units throughout all the surveys of the Ord River Irrigation Area has been created based primarily on the map units identified by Aldrick and Moody (1977) on the Lower Weaber and Keep River Plains (1977) and Aldrick et al. (1990) in the study of the Ivanhoe Plain. This common key has been expanded to incorporate surveys of the Weaber Plain, Ivanhoe West Bank and the Knox Creek Plain. Not all of the units of the common map key occur within this survey area and thus map unit designations are not necessarily consecutive. The common map key is presented in Appendix 1. The distinction between a soil unit and a mapping unit must be understood. Map units, which can also be termed ‘land units’, include a combination of land features in their identification. These include landform, vegetation, flooding, drainage and stoniness in addition to soil type. A soil unit describes only the soil features. Map units identified on the Ivanhoe West Bank were: 1 Flat to very gently undulating cracking clay plain This comprises areas of brown or grey cracking clay soils, mainly Cununurra leached grey or brown phase, and occasionally Cununurra eroded phase. These soils are locally known as ‘black’ or ‘Cununurra clays’. Slopes of less than 1% are common. This unit often occurs as small apparently remnant areas which have yet to be removed by erosion. The soils frequently intergrade with the red or brown soils of the adjacent red soil plain. A tall tussock grass savanna is the main vegetation community. The most common tree is Lysiphyllum cunninghamii (bauhinia), and grasses include Iseilema vaginiflorum (red Flinders grass), Aristida latifolia (feathertop wiregrass) and Astrebla squarrosa (bull M itchell grass). 2f Almost flat red soil plain This flat to gently undulating unit with slopes to 2% comprises areas of variable red or brown soils (‘red plain’ soils). Similar soils were described by Stoneman (1988) as Packsaddle sandy loam, and by Aldrick (1990) as Weaber family.
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