Soil texture and the Land Management Code
Knowing how to assess soil texture is important for land managers looking to clear native vegetation under Part 2 Division 2 of the Land Management Code (moderate impact clearing of invasive native species).
Under this part of the Code, clearing native vegetation is not permitted on land where the soil has a clay content of less than 5%.
Assessing soil texture
Soil texture refers to how coarse or fine the soil is. This is determined by how much sand, silt and clay it contains. Texture has a major influence on how much water a soil can hold.
Generally, the smaller and finer the soil particles (the more silt and clay), the more water a soil can hold. These soils are less susceptible to wind erosion with adequate rainfall.
Soil texture can be estimated by hand using the ribboning technique, noting that it takes practice to produce a consistent result.
Using the ribboning technique
Carry out this ribbon test on a sample of soil from the area to be cleared using the Code.
If soil differs across the area to be cleared, assess each area separately. Do this several times for confirmation and compare the average ribbon length with those shown below.
Each soil texture is classified within a ribbon length range (for example, sandy clay loam ribbon length is 25 to 40 mm long).
Once a consistent ribbon length is being produced, you can be reasonably confident that the correct soil texture has been identified.
Take a small handful of soil
Add enough water to make a ball
If you can't make a ball, the soil is very sandy.
Feel the ball with your fingers
This will help you to find out if it is gritty (sand), silky (silt) or plastic/sticky (clay).
Reroll the ball and with your thumb gently press it out over your forefinger to make a hanging ribbon
If you can make a short ribbon, your soil texture is loamy, a mixture of sand and clay
The longer the ribbon, the more clay is in your soil
Soil texture guide
| Broad group | Texture grade | Behaviour of the soil | Ribbon (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sands | Sand | Ball will not form | 0 |
| Loamy sand | Ball just holds together | 5 | |
| Clayey sand | Ball forms, sticky clay stains fingers | 5–15 | |
| Sandy loams | Sandy loam | Ball forms, feels sandy but spongy | 15–25 |
| Silty loam | Ball forms, feels smooth and silky | 25 | |
| Loams | Loam | Ball forms, feels smooth and spongy | 25 |
| Sandy clay loam | Ball is firm, feels sandy and plastic | 25–40 | |
| Clay loams | Silty clay loam | Ball is firm, smooth, silky, plastic | 40–50 |
| Clay loam | Ball is firm, feels smooth and plastic | 40–50 | |
| Clays | Light clay | Ball very strong, feels plastic | 50–75 |
| Medium clay | Ball very strong, feels like plasticine | 75+ | |
| Heavy clay | Ball very strong, stiff plasticine | 75 |
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