A comparison of the soils from two areas of sorted step chenopod patterned ground, at Fowlers Gap Field Station, Western New South Wales.

Abstract

Sorted step patterned ground at Fowlers Gap Field Station occurs within a variety of different Landsystem Units. Areas of sorted step patterned ground from Nuntherungie and Gap Hills Landsystems were selected and the soil properties compared. Soils from areas of sorted step patterned ground are composed of bare saline soils which surround the less saline vegetated soils. Despite occurring within different Landsystems, the suite of soil chemical properties (EC, soluble cations, and pH) between the bare and vegetated area within the patterned ground were statistically the same in most cases. Differences in the suite of soil salts probably arise from variations in gilgai microtopography.