Soils of the Cranbourne - Koo Wee Rup region
General Land Use | Geology of the Region | References
| This material is based on a publication entitled 'Major Agricultural Soils of the Cranbourne and Koo-Wee-Rup Region' (Sargeant and Imhof et al, 1996). This was initially prepared for a Soil Pit Field Day in May 1996. The report consolidates much of the work done under three separate reports commissioned by the following organisations:
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| These maps were developed for the report: 'Major Agricultural Soils of the Cranbourne - Koo Wee Rup Vegetable Growing Region' by Sargeant and Imhof et al. The original mapping was undertaken by Ian Sargeant for the former Shires of Pakenham and Cranbourne, and the former Ministry for Planning in conjunction with the City of Casey. These maps were originally prepared at scales of 1:10 000 or 1:25 000. | ||
The former Shire of Pakenham requested an evaluation of the soils in part of their Shire in order to define the then proposed Horticultural Preservation Zone (Sargeant 1993). This Zone was proposed to maintain and enhance the valuable agricultural activity currently taking place in the southern area of the Shire of Pakenham known as the Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp. The proposed controls were to place greater restriction upon subdivision, house construction and uses (including agricultural activities) not dependent upon the prime agricultural land. This statutory planning initiative was considered vital to the continuation of the local agricultural economy in the face of impending development pressures associated with the increase in population in the nearby South Eastern Growth Corridor.
The former Shire of Cranbourne, which adjoined the Shire of Pakenham, requested a similar evaluation of part of their Shire (Sargeant 1994). However, before any statutory planning schemes could be initiated, shire amalgamations occurred and now much of the area originally administered by the Shire of Cranbourne is now within the Shire of Cardinia.
| The former Ministry for Planning in conjunction with the City of Casey requested an evaluation of the soils south of Cranbourne to provide information on their agricultural potential and to aid future planning (Sargeant 1995). Permission to repackage material from the above work into a single publication was given to Agriculture Victoria by the Shire of Cardinia, the City of Casey and the Ministry for Planning. It should be noted that the maps presented in this publication are at a scale of 1: 50 000, whereas the maps in original reports were at a scale of 1:10 000 or 1: 25 000. Some minor changes have been made to soil mapping unit names and soil profile descriptions. |  Aerial view over part of the Koo-Wee-Rup region |
Soil pit descriptions were undertaken in March 1996. These sites were selected as example soil profiles for some of the major mapping units in the area and results from these should be used as a guide only. Samples taken from the pit sites represent only one spot within a paddock and may not be representative of the whole paddock or of the mapped unit. Natural variations will occur within a mapped soil type, so soil maps should be used with some caution when assessing soils within a paddock. It is recommended that testing (soil and plant tissue) be carried out every one to two years for intensively cropped paddocks in order to assess nutrient status. Sampling should take place across a cropping paddock.
This work was initially done as part of a National Landcare Program (NLP) funded project aiming to provide soil and land information to assist Landcare activities within the North Central, Goulburn, North East and Gippsland regions.
Acknowledgements
This work would not have been possible without the support of the National Landcare Program.
We wish to thank David Eagling (DPI, Knoxfield) for initiating much of this work and coordinating excavation of soil pits and field day activities. Alan Cole (DPI, Ellinbank) has also assisted greatly in siting and organising excavation of soil pits. Andrew Henderson (Knoxfield) has offered valued assistance in arranging for excavation of soil pits in the Koo-Wee-Rup region.
Thanks must go to DPI, Werribee for the laboratory analysis of soil samples. Doug Crawford and Geoff Morrow have also provided valued assistance with soil interpretation.
Support from the Farm$mart Perennial Horticulture Program, former Ministry for Planning, Shire of Cardinia and City of Casey has been much appreciated.
© The State of Victoria, 1996 - 2012.
This document was last reviewed on 30/12/2008