Soils of the Mount Beaumont area

Mount Beaumont Mount Beaumont is approximately 100 km north-east of Esperance in the south-east of Western Australia. In 1982 an area of 35,000 ha of virgin Crown Land was released for agriculture (identified as Mount Beaumont Stage I) and later it was proposed to release a further 33,600 ha (Mount Beaumont Stage II). Following development of the first stage, doubts arose about the suitability of the soils for agriculture, so the Department of Agriculture (now Agriculture Western Australia) surveyed the soils of the Mount Beaumont Stage II area before further land release. The survey indicated severe limitations to production and as a consequence a further soil survey of the land in Mount Beaumont Stage I was undertaken. The soil series names introduced by Teakle, Burvill and Stokes (1932-35) for the Salmon Gums area have been used where appropriate, and new names have been introduced where new soils have been identified. Comparisons are made between Mount Beaumont soils and similar soils in the Salmon Gums area. The 1965 survey (Benetti and Grant 1965) mis-identified some of the Mount Beaumont soils. There are significant differences between the soils of Mount Beaumont and Salmon Gums. This publication combines the results of the two surveys. The authors conclude that: All soils in the Stage I area suffer from salinity at relatively shallow depths and most have structural degradation as a result of clearing and cultivation. Ninety per cent of the soils of the Stage II area are not suited to conventional agriculture and would require special management to prevent a rapid decline in productivity following clearing