FAO -Unesco Soilmap of the world sr FAO-Unesco Soil map of the world 1: 5 000 000 Volume X Australasia FAO-Unesco Soil map of the world Volume I Legend Volume II North America Volume Mexico and Central America Volume IV South America Volume V Europe Volume VI Africa Volume VII South Asia Volume VIII North and Central Asia Volume IX Southeast Asia Volume X Australasia OFOODAND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION FAO-Unesco Soilmap of the world 1: 5 000 000 Volume X Australasia Prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Unesco-Paris 1978 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations or of the United Nations Educa- tional, Scientific and Cultural Organization con- cerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Printed by Tipolitografia F. Failli, Rome, for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Published in 1978 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Place de Fontenoy, 75700 Paris C) FAO/Unesco 1978 ISBN 92-3-101359-9 Printed in Italy PREFACE The project for a joint FAo/Uneseo Soid Map of the text.FAO and Unesco shared the expenses involved World was undertaken following a recommendation in the realization of the project, and Unesco under- of the International Society of Soil Science.It is took publication of its results. the first attempt to prepare, on the basis of interna- The present volume, covering the soils of Australia, tional cooperation, a soil map covering all the con- Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and the islands of tinents of the world in a uniform legend, thus en- the Pacific ocean, is the last of a set of ten which abling the correlation of soil units and comparisons make up the complete publication of the Soil Map on a global scale.The project, which started in of the World.The first volume records introductory 1961, fills a gap in present knowledge of soil poten- information and presents the definitions of the ele- tialities throughout the world and provides a useful ments of the legend which is used uniformly through- instrument in planning agricultural and economic out the publication.Each of the nine following development programmes. volumes comprises an explanatory text and corre- The project has been carried out under the scientific sponding map sheets covering the main regions of authority of an international advisory panel, within the world. the framework of FAO and Unesco programmes. FAO and Unesco wish to express their gratitude The different stages of the work included comparative tothe government institutions,the International studies of soil maps, field and laboratory work, and Society of Soil Science, and the many individual the organization of international expert meetings soil scientists who have contributed so much to this and study tours.The secretariat of the joint project, internationalproject.They particularlywishto located at FAO headquarters, was vested with the thank the Government of New Zealand for contribut- responsibility of compiling the technical information, ing most of the cost of publishing the maps and text correlating the studies and drafting the maps and volume for the Australasia and Pacific region. CONTENTS Preface Kastanozems . 106 Luvisols 107 N.Nitosols 109 VII Summary O.Histosols 110 English vll P. Podzols 110 French IX Q.Arenosols 111 Russian XI R.Regosols 112 Spanish XIII S Solonetz 113 T. Andosols 114 Introduction 1 V. Vertisols . 115 W. Planosols 116 117 Acknowledgements 4 X.Xerosols. Yermosols . 117 Solonchaks 118 The map 6 Conclusions 118 Topographic base 6 Map units 6 Cartographic representation 6 7.Soils of other Pacific regions 120 Sources of information .. 8 East Pacific 120 Polynesia 120 Environmental conditions 14 Micronesia 121 Melanesia 121 CLIMA'TE 14 Nontropical Islands 121 Climatological-agricultural regions 24 Antarctica . 121 VEGETATION 29 PHYSIOGRAPHY 41 Appendix LITHOLOGY 50 Morphological, chemical and physical proper- ties of Australasian and Pacific soils : data The soils of Australasia_and the Pacific ... 57 from selected profiles . 131 Climatic data. 57 Soil formation 57 Figures Major soil regions 58 1.Sources of information 9 Annual 50 percentile rainfall in Australia 15 Notes on soil characteristics, distribution Seasonal rainfall zones in Australia . .. 17 19 and land use of important soil units. 99 4.Average annual temperatures in Australia 5.Average annual evaporation in Australia 21 Acrisols 99 6.Rainfall regimes of Papua New Guinea. 22 Cambisols 101 7.Climates of Australia 27 Rendzinas 103 8.Climates of Papua New Guinea 29 Ferralsols 103 9.Climates of New Zealand 3/ Gleysols 104 10. Vegetation of Australia 33 Phaeozems 105 11. Landforms and geomorphic provinces in Lithosols 106 Australia 43 Fluvisols 106 12. Distribution of main rock types in Australia 53 SUMMARY This volume describes the Australasia and Pacific details of the map units and their cartographic rep- section of the 1: 5 000 000 Soil Map of the World. resentation, and indicatesthe sources of soil in- The Soil Map of the World is a joint FAo-Unesco formation obtained from the various countries in the project initiated in 1961.The Australasia and Pa- region. cific section was compiled between 1970 and 1975. ENV/RONMENTAL CONDMONS The maps Chapter 4 contains brief accounts, with some maps, of the four factors of the environment that have close The two map sheets, X1 and X2, which make up relationships with the pattern of soils: climate, veg- the Soil Map of Australasia and the Pacific are drawn etation, physiography and lithology. on topographic base maps of the I: 5 000 000 series of the American Geographical Society.Sheet X1 Climate is discussed on the basis of climatic ele- covers Australia, and sheet X2 covers Papua New ments, and maps are included showing annual rain- Guinea and the southwest Pacific, including the Sol- fall, seasonal rainfall, temperature and evaporation omon Islands, the New Hebrides, New Caledonia patterns for the Australian continent (Figures 2-5). and New Zealand.Soil maps of Fiji, Samoa, Tonga Rainfall regimes of Papua New Guinea are also il- and Hawaii are shown as insets.Soil data on the lustrated (Figure 6).To link climatic patterns with other islands and island groups in the east Pacific, those of other volumes of the Soil Map of the World in Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia, and the the broad climatological-agricultural regions of the nontropical islands and Antarctica,are given in classification of Papadakis are included with maps the text. of Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand The map units are associations of soil units divided (Figures 7-9). into texture and slope classes.They are marked on Vegetation of Australia is described in 19 units, the map by symbols.The dominant soils are shown the distribution of which are shown on a map (Fig- by colours while phase differences are shown by over- ure 10).Soil and plant nutrient relationships are prints. also discussed.Notes are added on the vegetation A small inset map on sheet X1 indicates three of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, New grades of reliability of soil information from which Caledonia, New Zealand and the oceanic islands. the map was compiled. Detailed definitions of the soil units and full de- Physiography of Australia is treated in terms of scriptions of all the terms used may be found in Vol- landscapes with a map of landforms and geomorphic ume I of the set. provinces (Figure11).The landforms of Papua New Guinea. the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, New Zealand and the oceanic islands, which are important for an understanding of the distribution The text of soils, are also described. The first chapter outlines the history and objectives Lithology of Australia is illustrated with a map of of the project, and discusses the value and limita- the main rock types (Figure 12), and very briefly tions of the map and the use of the map and text. described in terms of continental structures.The Chapter 2 acknowledges the cooperation of the many lithologies of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon agencies and people who contributed to the maps Islands, New Caledonia, New Zealand and the oceanic and text.Chapter 3 summarizes from Volume I islands are also discussed. viii SOIL MAP OF AUSTRALASIA Sous Vegetation and present land use Chapter 5 describes the distribution of the major Lithology: parent material, landform, elevation. soils in 11 broad structural and ecological units, each of which has a characteristic pattern of soil distribu- SOILS AND LAND USE tion.The main soils of each unit are discussed in relation to environmental factors.The soilsare Chapter 6 contains notes on the soil characteristics, highly varied in nature and distribution but it ap- distribution and land use of 58 of the main soils of pears that most countries have soil resources capable the region.Possibilities for agricultural development of substantially improved production.There are are noted. real limitations to be overcome before the potential of many soils can be achieved, but with the present OTHER PACIFIC REGIONS soil knowledge, and with the possibilities for regional Chapter 7 deals with the soil units of the Pacific cooperation in practical research now available, these regions not shown on the map.These are east limitations should steadily be reduced in the coming Pacific, Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, the non- years. tropical islands and Antarctica. A table similar to Included in Chapter 5 is an extensive table of soil that in Chapter 5 is included.