Sands Ain’t Sands – How Australia’s Soils Classification Deals with Sandy Soil Diversity
Tracks
| Monday, July 21, 2025 |
| 10:15 AM - 10:35 AM |
Overview
Speaker
Mr Bernie Powell
Chair
Australian Soil Classification Working Group
Sands Ain’t Sands – How Australia’s Soils Classification Deals with Sandy Soil Diversity
Abstract
Although sandy soils have some common features that affect their character and value, they can be very diverse. To address this, the third edition of the Australian Soil Classification (Isbell and NCST 2022) recently introduced a new soil order the Arenosols, that more clearly identify sands deeper than 1m. The classification also retained a place for the many other sandy soils that are found throughout the continent.
Sandy soils in Australia can be deep or shallow, and can be comprised of quartz, ferruginous minerals, other primary minerals or calcareous fragments. Additionally sandy soils can be mixed with gravels of various mineralogy and be underlain at shallow depth by horizons of contrasting textures such as loams and clays. Further they can be found in hydrologically diverse circumstances, from extremely arid, wind-blown environments to permanent wetlands, sometimes overlain by peat.
An aspect that has not been fully addressed in the classification is the variation on the particle size and form of the sand fraction. These properties can have significant implications for agricultural land suitability and management as well as other forms of utilization. How these various forms of sandy soils are described, classified and distributed at a national scale are presented. Comparisons are made with other internationally applied soil classifications. In addition, the implications for land suitability across a variety of climatic and topographic settings are discussed.
Sandy soils in Australia can be deep or shallow, and can be comprised of quartz, ferruginous minerals, other primary minerals or calcareous fragments. Additionally sandy soils can be mixed with gravels of various mineralogy and be underlain at shallow depth by horizons of contrasting textures such as loams and clays. Further they can be found in hydrologically diverse circumstances, from extremely arid, wind-blown environments to permanent wetlands, sometimes overlain by peat.
An aspect that has not been fully addressed in the classification is the variation on the particle size and form of the sand fraction. These properties can have significant implications for agricultural land suitability and management as well as other forms of utilization. How these various forms of sandy soils are described, classified and distributed at a national scale are presented. Comparisons are made with other internationally applied soil classifications. In addition, the implications for land suitability across a variety of climatic and topographic settings are discussed.
Biography
Bernie Powell (M. Rur. Sc., B. Ag. Sc., QDA, CPSS, CPSS-SSLE, RSP-ASS) was a Queensland Government soil scientist for more than 40 years. Bernie specializes in pedology and land suitability assessments and has undertaken soil surveys throughout Queensland. He has published in excess of 60 papers and reports, and for 15 years led the Land Resource Assessment section in the Queensland Government. In this role, Bernie also represented Queensland on two national soils committees and was chair for 3 years of the National Committee for Acid Sulfate Soil (NatCASS).
Following government employment, Bernie has undertaken consultancies and training workshops in soil science. He has held Soil Science Australia positions as Chair of the Certified Professional Soil Scientist Accreditation Board, and the National Training Committee. He was also previously an Adjunct Research Fellow, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University. He is currently Chair of the Australian Soil Classification Working Group operating under the National Committee on Soils and Terrain. The Working Group was responsible for the most recent edition of the Australian Soil Classification.
