Soil Management

Overall this soil is in exceptional condition, which is fortunate as its shallow depth means that if it were poorly managed, it would rapidly suffer from low moisture availability, poor oxygen status for root function and limited nutrients. This is an exceptionally well structured soil. The A horizons contains a high proportion of large well connected macropores which have resulted in the very high drainable porosity and hydraulic conductivity. The excellent structure of the A horizons is likely to be related to the very high soil carbon content, which is likely to have also resulted in the substantial CEC of the A horizons. The water retention properties of the A and B horizons are however limited such that if trees are unable to access moisture in the C horizon (as indicated during excavation) then this soil profile only contains the 52 mm plant available soil moisture and only 21 mm readily available soil moisture to support rapid plant growth. This soil profile will require very careful irrigation aided by soil moisture monitoring equipment. In relation to irrigation, the refill point for the A1 horizon is between 27% (50 kPa) to 23 % (100 kPa) soil moisture.

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