Soil Characteristics and Fertility of the Unique Jarrah Forest of Southwestern Australia, with Particular Consideration of Plant Nutrition and Land Rehabilitation

Amin Soltangheisi, Suman George and Mark Tibbett ()
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Amin Soltangheisi: Department of Sustainable Land Management & Soil Research Centre, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AR, UK
Suman George: Food Futures Institute, Murdoch University, South Street, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
Mark Tibbett: Department of Sustainable Land Management & Soil Research Centre, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AR, UK

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 6, 1-17

Abstract: The jarrah forest is a natural ecosystem with significant endemism in the flora and fauna. The forest stands on the western edge of the ancient Great Plateau of Western Australia on the granitic shield of the Yilgarn craton (2.5 Gya). The long-term migration of soluble iron and aluminium led to the formation of bauxite ore. The regolith ore is bound by surficial topsoil and deep pallid zone kaolinite clays, primarily used in land rehabilitation. We investigated the chemical fertility of the substrates, along with key physical properties. We found the capacity of these soils to provide a stable growth medium differed considerably in their ability to retain and supply nutrients. These substrates are deficient in nitrogen, phosphorus, and micronutrients. In the topsoil, 15% of total P is plant-available, while in the pallid zone layer, only 1% of total P is available. 31 P-NMR showed no organic P in the pallid zone, whereas the topsoil had significant organic P and, consequently, a supply of phosphate ions. This shows the importance of organic P in the topsoil for ecosystem nutrition when inorganic fertilisers are not applied in state-of-the-art restoration schemes.

Keywords: Archean; bauxite; aluminium ores; kaolinite; NMR spectroscopy; micronutrients; boron; copper; zinc (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:6:p:1236-:d:1172377

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