Soils and Agricultural Land Suitaiblity of the Wet Tropica Coast of North
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0 o O o oo -ore Z CQ _ .~0 -~ ~0 ~ct ,~iiiii!i!i!iii!iiii!ii!!!!~.... ~iiii!tii~!~iiiii!iiiiiiiiii~i~il................. r'- I1) i ! ~'~ It) "rl H ~H @ Queensland Government Technical Report This report is a scanned copy and some detail may be illegible or lost. Before acting on any information, readers are strongly advised to ensure that numerals, percentages and details are correct. This report is intended to provide information only on the subject under review. There are limitations inherent in land resource studies, such as accuracy in relation to map scale and assumptions regarding socio-economic factors for land evaluation. Before acting on the information conveyed in this report, readers should ensure that they have received adequate professional information and advice specific to their enquiry. While all care has been taken in the preparation of this report neither the Queensland Government nor its officers or staff accepts any responsibility for any loss or damage that may result from any inaccuracy or omission in the information contained herein. © State of Queensland 1990 For information about this report contact [email protected] QueenslandDepartment of Primary Industries Land Resource BulletinQvg0001 SOILS AND AGRICULTURAL LAND SUITABILITY OF THE WET TROPICAL COAST OF NORTH QUEENSLAND: INGHAM AREA P.R. Wilson Land Resources Branch D.E. Baker Agricultural Chemistry Branch Queensland Department of Primary Industries Brisbane 1990 ISSN 0811-9007 AGDEX 524 This pubfication was prepared for Queensland Department of Primary Industries officers. It may be distributed to other interested individuals and organisations. r L - " 7 7 Queensland Government 1990 Queensland Department of Primary Industries GPO Box 46 Brisbane'Q 4001 ~176176 Ul CONTENTS Page LIST OF 11 J.USTRATIONS vi LIST OF TABI.FS vii ABSTRACT ix -1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. THE STUDY AREA DESCRIPTION 1 3. CLIMATE 3.1 Introduction 1 .Q 3.2 Rainfall 3 3.3 Temperature 4 3.4 Relative Humidity 5 4. GEOLOGY 4.1 Introduction 5 4.2 Geological Formations 5 5. GEOMORPHOLOGY 5.1 Introduction 6 5.2 Landforms 6 6. HYDROLOGY 6.1 Surface hydrology 9 6.2 Subsurface hydrology 11 7. NATURAL VEGETATION 7.1 Introduction 13 7.2 Vegetation communities 13 8. SOBS 8.1 Introduction 16 8.2 Resource mapping 16 8.3 Description of the soil types 17 8.4 Chemical and physical attributes of soils 29 9. LAND USE 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Agricultural crops 9.3 Irrigated land use 9.4 Methodology and interpretation of data 48 iv 9.5 Specifications for agricultural uses 50 9.6 Limitations to agricultural uses 50 9.7 Suitability of soil types for agricultural uses 66 I0. CONCLUSIONS 78 11. ACKNOWl .EDGEMENTS 81 12. REFERENCES , 82 V '~ APPENDIXES ~- - . Common and scientific names for plant species 89 II Site data record file (not included in report, accessed through the Director, Land Resources Branch, Queensland Department of Primary Industries) III Conventions used in the descriptions of the morphology, landscape 90 and vegetation of the soil types IV Descriptions of the soil types 92 V Morphological and analytical data for representative soil profiles (not included in report, accessed through the Director, Land Resources Branch, Queensland Department of Primary Industries) VI Land suitability classification scheme 104 VII Land suitability classes 126 VIII Explanation of codes for the UMA record file (not included in report, accessed through the Director, Land Resources Branch, Queensland Department of Primary Industries) IX Unique map area record type (not included in report, accessed through the Director, Land Resources Branch, Queensland Department of Primary Industries) X Land use specifications of agricultural crops 128 XI Pasture management categories 147 vi, LIST OF 11 J .USTRATIONS Page Figure 1. Locality plan 2 Figure 2. Median monthly rainfall for Ingham 3 Figure 3. Mean daily maximum and minimum temPeratures for t 4 Ingham Figure 4. Area harvested and area assigned for the two Herbert 45 mills, 1965 to 1988 vii LIST OF TAB! .125 Page Table 1. Summary of aquifer and groundwater characteristics 12 Table 2. Mapping unit composition and areas ~ ' 18 Table 3. Grouping of sampled soil types 30 Table 4. Soil fertility ratings for the soil groups 32 Table 5. Mean exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) for'the 34 soil groups Table 6. Mean effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC), 36 exchangeable Ca, Mg and Ca/Mg ratio for the soil groups Table 7. Mean percent coarse sand (CS), fine sand (FS), silt 38 (S) and clay (C) for the soil groups Table 8. Mean clay activity ratio (m equiv per g clay) for the 39 soil groups Table 9. Mean total phosphorus (%) levels for the soil groups 40 Table 10. Mean acid extractable phosphorus (AP) and bicarbonate 41 extractable phosphorus (BP) levels for the soil groups Table 11. Mean organic Carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN) and 43 carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio for the soil groups Table 12. Soil drainage and permeability categories for the soil types 59 Table 13. Limitations and land attribute levels occurring in each 67 soil mapping unit Table 14. Area (ha) of suitability classes for each soil mapping 69 unit and crop ~ Vlll ABSTRACT The Wet Tropical Coast from Ingham to Cape Tribulation is utilised for sugar-cane, horticultural crops, tea, field crops, exotic pine plantations and cattle. A majority of the coastal lowlands are developed creating land use problems and competition for land. The expanding urban developments are also competing for lando This report on the Ingham area is a companion to other reports on the Wet Tropical Coast. It describes and catalogues the land resources of 319 456 hectares of land from 50 km south of Ingham to 40 km to the north. The resources are described in terms of climate, geology, geomorphology, hydrology, natural vegetation and soils. A total of 43 soils were identified and mapped, and cover 160 270 ha of coastal lowland. The ten dominant soils occupy 97 464 ha or 61% of the lowland. The remainder of the area incorporates mountains, rivers and swamps, mangroves, and towns. The resources were assessed to determine their suitability for growing sugar-cane, bananas, papaw, mango, lychee, citrus, avocado, rambutan, tea, vegetables, cucurbits, pineapples, maize, sorghum, sweet corn, soybean, peanut, sweet potato, rainfed rice, Pinus caribbaea and improved pastures. Each of the 1626 unique map areas identified during the study were individually assessed for their suitability for each crop using a land suitability classification scheme. The limitations examined were climate, water availability, soil nutrient supply, salinity, wetness, flooding, landscape complexity, soil physical condition, topography, rockiness and water erosion. The report identifies the areas of land suitable for agricultural development and the management needs of these lands for agricultural uses and the likely impact of other land uses on these lands. The guidelines are aimed at promoting improved productivity while avoiding degradation of the land resources. The information in this report will be useful to industry groups, land holders, local authorities and government departments who have a commitment to maintain the land in a highly productive state. 1. INTRODUCTION This study began in t980 in response to land use concerns affecting the sugar industry. The main concerns were competition between forestry and sugar growing interests for land in state forests, expansion of cane growing onto marginal or unsuitable lands, the relative suitability and location of suitable lands, and the total cane growing potential of the district. Subsequent discussions with other industry groups and organisations established a need for information covering crops other than sugar-cane. The approaches adopted for the study were to compile a land resource inventory and then assess the suitability of these land resources for various agricultural uses. 2. STUDY AREA DESCRIgrION The study area is located on the southern end of Queensland's wet tropical coast (Figure 1). The coastline forms the eastern boundary from Rollingstone Creek in the south to Damper Creek in the north. The southern boundary is Rollingstone Creek while the western boundary is the Seaview Range, approximately from the headwaters of Rollingstone Creek north to Mount Fox. From this point, the study boundary tends north and follows the ridge which separates the Stone River and Stoney Creek catchment to a point north of the Wallaman Falls National Park and from there, the boundary is due north. The northern boundary is a line drawn due west from Damper Creek. The southern boundary adjoins the Townsville Coastal Plain study (Murtha 1975) and the northern boundary adjoins the Cardwell-Tully study (Cannon et al. 1988). The study area is 317 979 ha of which 134 323 ha are mountains, 19 690 ha are mangroves and saltpans, 1361 ha are urban, 2322 ha are rivers, creeks and swamps. 3. CI IMATE 3.1 Introdu~don The study area is located at the southern end of the Wet Tropical Coast which normally experiences warm humid summers and mild dry winters. ._0 LL "r z~ rr 09 0. 0 (D ("-I 8 ~DCj o o, c~ c~ ~B J E _BE o E 3.2 Rainfall Monthly rainfall figures for Ingham are shown in Figure 2. Median annual rainfall (50 percentile) varies from approximately 3000 mm at Mount Spec to 2275 mm at Ingham and less than 1600 mm in the Upper Stone River area. 400- A E 300 E e- ~ t~ n- ~nn 100 J F M A M J J A S O N D Month Figure 2. Median monthly rainfall for Ingham. Approximately 74% of the mean annual rainfall occurs from December to March, decreasing to a minimum in the June to October period. Evaporation exceeds median rainfall from May to November (Bureau of Meteorology 1970). The considerable variation in rainfall regimes over short distances reflects changes in the height and orientation of the mountain ranges and the direction of the coastlines with respect to the prevailing moist south-east winds.