The effect of Aeolian accessions on soil development on granitic-rocks in south eastern Australia. III. Micromorphological and geochemical evidence of weathering and soil development

Abstract

Micromorphological, mineralogical and chemical data show that clay illuviatidn, clay decomposition and strong weathering of biotite and feldspars to clay mineral$ have all been significant processes of soil development in three red podzolic soils and one red earth. Decomposition of biotite and illuviation of swelling clays into fissures in the saprolite and C horizons appear to have aided the physical fragmentation of the granitic parent materials. Disruption of illuvial features by faunal activity and shrink-swell processes in the upper B horizons accentuate apparent illuvial clay maxima in the B3 and C horizons. Low clay contents in the A horizons of the red podzolic soils examined result from ehviation and clay decomposition, whereas the higher fine sand contents of these horizons result, in part, from the deposition of aeolian transported materials. Substantial aeolian deposition at another site has led to the development of a red earth. The deposition of greater amounts of aeolian material to the soils to the west of Canberra has led to the development of complex, polycyolic soil profiles in comparison to the profiles investigated towards the coast.