Ravenswood. Average slope. Soil permeability. Slowly permeable. Inundation risk. Low. Soil depth. Very deep; m. Wind erosion.

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1 Land system name: Land unit: Ravenswood 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. Midtall, 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 is predominant. Site characteristics Landform element Plain Site drainage Moderately well drained Flooding risk Potential recharge to groundwater Present land use Grazing Average slope 1% Soil permeability Slowly permeable Inundation risk Soil depth Very deep; m Susceptibility to land degradation processes Sheet erosion Moderate Gully erosion Wind erosion Salting High Land Unit RD2 - page 1

2 Representative site number: 871 Soil classification Australian Soil Classification VE AB DF BZ - E Q S X Principle Profile Form 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 A 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 mm subangular blocky structure; no segregations; Dry weak; Abrupt to; B Brown light clay; No mottles; no coarse fragments; Very few (0-2 %) Medium (2-6 mm) Gypseous Soft segregations Dry weak; Abrupt to; B22y Reddish yellow light clay; No mottles; no coarse fragments; Very many ( %) Medium (2-6 mm) Gypseous Crystals Dry weak; Clear to; B Pinkish grey heavy clay; Many 20-50% Medium 5-15mm prominent red mottles; no coarse fragments; no segregations; Dry very firm; Soil chemical analysis Horizon Horizon no. Depth ph Gravel % Phosphorus Potassium Nutrient status A Moderate Satisfactory Very low 0.01 N Y Moderate B Deficient Very low - Very high - Severe Y Y Nil Aluminium Salt content Organic matter Sodicity Slaking Dispersion Land Unit RD2 - page 2

3 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 Abutilon arenarium - Abutilon fraseri Acacia cambagei Acacia coriacea Acacia farnesiana (1,5) Acacia tephrina Achyranthes aspera Alternanthera angustifolia Alternanthera denticulata Alternanthera nodiflora Amyema quandang Apophyllum anomalum Aristida latifolia Aristida sp. Astrebla sp. - Astrebla squarrosa Atalaya hemiglauca Atriplex muelleri Atriplex sp. Bursaria incana Calotis squamigera - Capparis lasiantha Carissa ovata Cenchrus ciliaris (1,5) Centipeda minima Chamaesyce drummondii Common name dwarf lantern flower*, Fraser's chinese lantern gidgee*, stinking wattle, silver gidgee desert oak, wirewood, dogwood, wiry wattle 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 boree* chaff flower*, chaff burr alternanthera, narrow leaf joyweed lesser joyweed*, joyweed, rock joyweed joyweed,* common joyweed, native carpetweed grey mistletoe broom bush*, warrier bush feathertop wiregrass*, curly wiregrass three-awn speargrass*, wiregrass bull Mitchell grass* whitewood*, cattle bush Mueller's saltbush, annual saltbush, green saltbush, lagoon saltbush, Queensland saltbush saltbush* hoary blackthorn*, prickly pine*, mock orange nipan,* nepine*, split jack *, wait-a-while currant bush*, blackberry*, kunkerberry*, baroom bush, burrum bush buffel grass*, African foxtail, black buffel grass, Rhodesian foxtail, slender buffel grass spreading sneezeweed, gukwonderuk, sneezeweed caustic-weed*, caustic creeper, creeping spurge, flat spurge, mat spurge, spurgewort Land Unit RD2 - page 3

4 Species Chenopodium hubbardii Chloris divaricata Chloris sp. - Chrysopogon fallax Cyperus fulvus Cyperus gracilis Cyperus tuberosus (1,5) Dactyloctenium radulans Dichanthium sericeum Dissocarpus biflorus var. cephalocarpus Echinochloa colona (1,5) Enchylaena tomentosa Enneapogon lindleyanus Enneapogon polyphyllus Enneapogon sp. Eragrostis lacunaria Eragrostis setifolia Eragrostis sp. Eragrostis speciosa Eremophila deserti (Myoporum deserti) Eremophila mitchellii Eucalyptus camaldulensis Evolvulus alsinoides Fimbristylis dichotoma Flindersia dissosperma Hakea leucoptera Hakea lorea Lysiana subfalcata Lysiphyllum carronii Malvastrum americanum (1,5) Oldenlandia mitrasacmoides - Oxychloris scariosa Panicum decompositum var. decompositum Panicum effusum Panicum sp. Paspalidium caespitosum Polycarpaea breviflora - Portulaca bicolor Portulaca oleracea Ptilotus exaltatus var. exaltatus Ptilotus obovatus var. obovatus Common name fishweed slender chloris,* slender windmill grass, small chloris golden beardgrass*, golden-beard grass, ribbon grass sticky sedge slender sedge*, whisker grass* sedge button grass*, coast button grass, eight-day grass, finger grass, small crowsfoot Queensland bluegrass*, silky bluegrass - awnless barnyard grass*, jungle rice, river grass, wamp grass, zebra grass ruby saltbush*, barrier saltbush*, berry cotton bush canetop nineawn*, nine-awn grass*, prickly couch*, wiry nineawn, bottlewasher leafy nineawn*, limestone bottlewashers, oatgrass bottlewashers* purple lovegrass*, lovegrass, neverfail neverfail grass*, narrow-leaf neverfail, bristly lovegrass, neverfail, perennial lovegrass, plains grass lovegrass handsome lovegrass Ellangowan poison bush*, turkey bush sandalbox*, bastard sandalwood*, budda, false sandalwood, sandalwood river red gum*, creek gum, flooded gum, Murray red gum, red gum, river gum tropical speedwell*, baby blue eyes* common fringe-rush*, fimbri sedge*, eight-day grass leopardwood*, scrub leopardwood needlewood, kulua, needle hakea, needlebush, pin bush, silver needlewood, water bush, water tree corkbark, bootlace, corkwood, witinti, bootlace oak northern mistletoe ebony tree*, red bauhinia*, small-leaved bauhinia*, northern bean tree, bauhinia, pegunny, Queensland ebony spiked mallow*, spiked malvastrum, bastard side-retusa, spiked false mallow, malvastrum, mulberry mallow, wild mulberry winged chloris*, winged windmill grass native millet hairy panic*, branched panic, diffuse panic, effuse panic, poison panic, two-colour panic panicum brigalow grass* pigweed*, common pigweed, common purslane, munyeroo, neverdie, perennial pigweed, portulaca weed, purslane, red pigweed, purselane tall mulla mulla*, Prince-of-Wales feather smoke bush, silvertail Land Unit RD2 - page 4

5 Species Rostellularia adscendens Salsola kali Santalum lanceolatum Sclerolaena anisacanthoides Sclerolaena bicornis var. bicornis Sclerolaena birchii Sclerolaena muricata var. muricata Sclerolaena sp. Sclerolaena tricuspis Senna artemisioides Sida corrugata Sida fibulifera Sida filiformis Sida sp. - Sida trichopoda Solanum ellipticum Sporobolus caroli Sporobolus sp. - Streptoglossa odora Tragus australianus Triodia pungens Tripogon loliiformis Wahlenbergia communis Waltheria indica Xanthium occidentale (Xanthium pungens) (1,5) Xanthium spinosum (1,5) Common name dwarf justicia*, pink tongues soft roly-poly*, buckbush, Russian thistle plum bush*, sandalwood*, wild plum*, cherry bush, native plumbush, northern sandalwood, plumwood, true sandalwood, bush plum yellow burr*, brigalow burr, yellow copperburr goathead burr galvanised burr*, blueburr, galvanised roly-poly, Hermidale lucern, Woolerino burr black roly-poly*, prickly roly-poly* copperburr 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 butter bush*, desert cassia*, silver cassia*, silver desert cassia* corrugated sida*, dwarf sida, native sida, sageweed, variable sida pin sida, silver sida fine sida high sida*, narrow-leaf sida potato bush*, hillside flannel bush, potato weed, tomato bush, velvet nightshade, velvet potato bush, wild gooseberry fairy grass*, yakka grass*, pretty sporobolus, small pepper grass mintbush small burr grass*, sago burrgrass, stockgrass, tickgrass soft spinifex, gummy spinifex, spinifex five minute grass*, eight-day grass, rye beettle grass tufted bluebell*, native bluebell waltheria Noogoora burr*, beach cockleburr, burrweed, clotburr, cockleburr, European cockleburr, large cockleburr, Italian cockleburr, rough cockleburr, sheep's burr 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 The acacia woodlands support high abundances of particular animals, including arboreal mammals (particularly where the woodlands are near watercourses), arboreal reptiles, and woodland bird species that prefer a dense canopy structure. Implications for land use The overall soil profile has a high nutrient status, but with a phosphorus deficiency - most soils in the Desert Uplands are deficient in phosphorus. The soils have a high salt content, usually below a depth of 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. Land Unit RD2 - page 5

6 Land Unit RD2 - page 6