No. 29 Land Resources of the Morehead–Kiunga Area, Territory of Papua and New Guinea

Abstract

The Morehead–Kiunga survey covered an area of approximately 30,460 km² which is much of the western half of present-day Western Province on the border with West Irian. The altitude ranges from sea level to less than 100 m in three physiographic regions.

The survey recognised 20 land systems ranging from 130 km² to 8,590 km² in four groups with between two and six land units. The report includes a general description for the geology, geomorphology, terrain parameters and agricultural potential of each land system. The relative area, landform, soil and drainage status, vegetation and limiting factors are recorded for each of the 65 identified land units and their positions shown on block diagrams.

Individual disciplinary chapters describe:

1. Climate — principal features and climatic controls; general rainfall, temperature and other characteristics; and water balance for plant growth
2. Geology and Geomorphology — relief, landform and drainage parameters of four geographic regions; stratigraphy, structure and landscape history
3. Soils — characteristic soils of the four geographic regions; soil classification and the profile characteristics of 52 soil families in seven principal soil ‘orders’, with selected chemical and physical properties and their distribution in the land systems. (Note: the first report with a full application of the US 7th Approximation for soil classification)
4. Vegetation, Forest Resources and Ecology — characteristics of vegetation in five major environments and details of six major types and their sub-types; general aspects of forest type, distribution and value, and the ecology of the monsoonal, rainforest, and river, lake and lagoon environments
5. Population and Present and Potential Land Use — population characteristics of three areas, and potential for arable and tree crops, improved pastures, irrigated rice, and animal industries.

Map 1 — Land Systems of the Morehead–Kiunga area, Territory of Papua and New Guinea by K Paijmans, DH Blake and P Bleeker. Scale 1:500,000. CSIRO Land Research Series No. 29, 1971.

Map 2 — Geology and Geomorphology, Agricultural Land Use Potential and Population, Associations of Great Soil Groups, Vegetation and Forest Resources of the Morehead–Kiunga area, Territory of Papua and New Guinea. Four maps on sheet, each scale 1:1,000,000: Geology and Geomorphology by DH Blake; Agricultural Land Use Potential and Population by P Bleeker; Associations of Great Soil Groups by P Bleeker; Vegetation and Forest Resources by K Paijmans. CSIRO Land Research Series No. 29, 1971.

Editor's Note: The population was 7,200 at the time of the survey and the area remains lightly settled relative to the rest of the Province and PNG as a whole.