Methods Content
- ASRIS Levels
- ASRIS Attributes
- ASRIS Soil Model
- Method Downloads
- State and Territory Agency Downloads
- How to cite this website
ASRIS Levels
The Australian Soil Resource Information System provides access
to the best available soil and land resource information in a
consistent format across the country – the level of detail
depends on the survey coverage in each region. More specifically,
ASRIS provides a hierarchy of mapping units with seven levels
of generalization. The upper three levels (L1–L3) provide
descriptions of soils and landscapes across the complete continent
while the lower levels (L4–L6) provide more detailed information,
particularly on soil properties, for areas where field survey
have been completed. The lowest level (L7) relates to an individual
site in the field (see table below or view
animation).
The system can also be used to provide summaries of soil and
landscape properties for a range of higher level stratifications
of the country (e.g. Interim Biogeographic Regions of Australia
(v6) and catchment management boundaries). To view these stratifications
use the Australian Frameworks layers on the ASRIS Maps page.
Level
Illustration |
Level and Tract name |
Mapping Window |
Main attributes used for mapping |
Typical uses for the information |
Area of Australia covered* |
|
1 Division |
30 km |
Broad landform (slope and relief) and geology
|
Broad geographic context
|
ILUZ*:
100%
Rangelands: 100%
|
2 Province |
10 km |
Landform, water balance, dominant soil order
and substrate
|
National natural resource policy
|
ILUZ: 100%
Rangelands: 100%
|
3 Zone |
3 km |
Landform, regolith materials, age of land
surface, water balance, dominant soil suborder
|
Regional natural resource policy |
ILUZ: 100%
Rangelands: 100%
|
4 District |
1 km |
Groupings of geomorphically related systems
|
Catchment planning, location of new industries
|
ILUZ: 60%
Rangelands: 70%
|
5 System |
300 m |
Local climate, relief, modal slope, lithology,
drainage network, related soil profile classes
|
Catchment management, hydrological modelling,
land conservation strategies, infra-structure planning
|
ILUZ: 60%
Rangelands: <5% |
6 Facet |
30 m |
Slope, aspect, land curvature, soil profile
class
|
Farm management, land use planning, on-ground
works
|
ILUZ: 60%
Rangelands: <5% |
7 Site |
10 m |
Soil properties, surface condition, microrelief
|
Precision agriculture, site development
|
|
* Estimates are for June 2007; ILUZ: Intensive Land Use Zone
ASRIS Attributes
A consistent set of land qualities or attributes is described
for land-unit tracts at levels 3-6. Descriptions from the lowest
level units feed into summaries at higher levels. These are displayed
in the online maps as area-weighted means. The land qualities
relate to the intrinsic capability of land to support various
land uses – the land qualities relate to soil thickness,
water storage, permeability, fertility, salinity, and erodibility.
The following table shows the main soil attributes in ASRIS and
their significance.
Attribute
|
Significance |
Texture |
Affects most chemical and physical properties. Indicates
some processes of soil formation. |
Clay content |
As for texture. |
Coarse fragments |
Affects water storage and nutrient supply. |
Bulk density |
Suitability for root growth. Guide to permeability. Necessary
for converting gravimetric estimates to volumetric. |
pH |
Controls nutrient availability and many chemical reactions.
Indicates the degree of weathering. |
Depths to A1, B2, impeding layers, thickness of solum
and regolith |
Used to calculate volumes of water and nutrients (e.g.
plant available water capacity, storage capacity for nutrients
and contaminants). |
Volumetric water content (–10 kPa) |
Used to calculate water availability to plants and water
movement. |
Volumetric water content (–1.5MPa) |
Used to calculate water availability to plants and water
movement. |
Plant available water capacity |
Primary control on biological productivity and soil hydrology. |
Saturated hydraulic conductivity |
Indicates likelihood of surface runoff and erosion. Indicator
of the potential for water logging. Measure of drainage. |
Electrical conductivity |
Presence of potentially harmful salt. Indicates the degree
of leaching. |
Aggregate stability |
Guide to soil physical fertility. Potential for clay
dispersal and adverse impacts on water quality. |
Sum of exchangeable bases |
Guide to nutrient levels. Indicates the degree of weathering. |
Cation exchange capacity |
Guide to nutrient levels. Indicates the degree of weathering.
Guide to clay mineralogy (when used with clay content). |
Exchangeable sodium percentage |
Indicator of dispersive clays and poor soil physical
properties. |
Australian Soil Classification |
Shorthand for communication across Australia. |
World Reference Base |
Shorthand for communication internationally. |
Substrate type |
Control on soil formation, landscape hydrology, groundwater
movement, nutrients and solutes. |
Substrate permeability |
Affects landscape hydrology and groundwater movement. |
Histograms of soil properties are displayed for map units by
using the hyperlink tool
and clicking on the polygon of interest.
ASRIS Soil Model
The soil information for map units at levels 3-6 relates to an
idealized soil. Each idealized soil profile is represented by
five contiguous soil layers (see figure below). The layers discriminate
materials in terms of their function in relation to water and
gas movement, nutrient supply, plant growth, and physical behaviour
more generally. Numbers are used to denote the layers and attributes
(e.g., Texture Layer 1, Organic Carbon Layer 2), and they will
often correspond with particular types of soil horizons. In general
terms, Layers 1 and 2 refer to the A horizon (often an A1 and
A2 horizon respectively), Layers 3 and 4 refer to the subsoil
(often a B21 and B22 horizon respectively), and Layer 5 refers
to the profile base (often a C horizon at around 1.5-2.0 m).
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The soil profiles below provide examples of how to allocate horizon
sequences to the ASRIS five-layer model. Example 1 is a common
sequence. In example 2, Layers 2 and 4 are recorded as missing
because the profile is thin and only has a few horizons. Example
3 is a complex profile and Layers are specified according to their
influence on plant growth and water movement.
Example 1
|
Example 2 |
Example 3 |
|
|
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Method Downloads
ASRIS Technical
Specifications V1.6 (3 MB)
Polygon Attribute
Data Spreadsheet V1.5 - Landsystem based (4 MB)
Polygon Attribute
Data Spreadsheet V1.5 - Soil type based (2 MB)
Available Water
Content Spreadsheet (55 KB)
ASRIS Example Database
- MS Access (3 MB)
ASRIS Powerpoint Presentation
(11 MB)
ASRIS Hierarchy Animation
(2 MB)
Spline Tool v2.0 (2 MB) - requires .NET Framework 4
Soil Information Transfer and Evaluation System (SITES) V2.0 - Documentation and Database (2 MB)
State and Territory Agency Downloads
Land Evaluation Standards for Land Resource Mapping - WA (3 MB PDF)
Soil-landscapes of Western Australia’s Rangelands and Arid Interior - WA (3 MB PDF)
Soil and Landscape Attributes - QLD (2 MB PDF)
How to cite this website
If you use the information contained in this website in a scientific paper or report, please include cite as follows:
ASRIS. (2011). ASRIS - Australian Soil Resource Information System. https://www.asris.csiro.au. Accessed November 7, 2011 (insert actual date).
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