Kimberley area, WA' (Speck et al. 1960). Numbers in bold type indicate dominants; + Pasture types described in Appendix 1. Note: Proportions and occurrence of pasture types within land units are subject to change over time due to invasion by native and introduced species, seasonal conditions, fire frequency and grazing management. Unit Approx. area (%) Landforms Soils Vegetation* Pasture type+ 1 80 Gentle slopes Mostly igneous red earths and skeletal red earths; smaller areas of yellow podzolics. Woodlands: Eucalyptus tectifica, Corymbia grandifolia (1, 2, 10, 13, 14, 15) alliance. WGBP 50% PLSP 25% TTGP 25% 2 6 Low rocky hills and medium slopes Predominantly skeletal red earths with some igneous red earths. Woodlands: E. tectifica, C. grandifolia alliance (1, 2, 8). ASHP 80% PLSP 20% 3 2 Shallow depressions Grey soils of heavy texture. Grassland with variable small trees: Terminalia sp., Dichanthium fecundum alliance (69, 70). BGAP 4 6 Flats Mixed lateritic podzolics and coarse and fine-textured yellow podzolics. Woodllands: E. latifolia alliance (48, 49, 50, 51). WGBP 5 6 Streamlines and levee Mostly red levee soils but with some igneous red earths. Fringing community and woodlands: Terminalia, Ficus. and Melaleuca spp. community; C. bella (53, 54, 55, 56, 57) and E. tectifica, C. grandifolia(1, 3) alliances and E. camaldulensis, Melaleuca spp. (75) community. FRIP Image of annual sorghum (Sorghum spp.) on the slopes of Barton land system buffeted by an approaching wet season storm. Photo:Peter Ewing Betty land system (Bet), size: 566km2, publication source: UNP* * Provisional description, not previously published. Originally described in Madigan Station Rangeland Condition Assessment (2004) DAWA, unpublished.
Land management: Most units stable except valley floor slopes and drainage floors (units 6 & 7) which are susceptible to degradation and erosion if vegetation is removed by preferential overgrazing or other disturbance. Image of Highly dissected country of the Bohemia land system cutting into the sandy plains and dunes of the Camelgooda land system to the south. Width of this 2007 aerial photograph is about 5.5km. Photo: Landgate Aerial oblique photograph showing the summit remnants, breakaways, slopes below breakaways and valley floors. Photo: Berkeley Fitzhardinge (alias Yaruman5, Flickr.com) Stylised block diagram showing location of land units for the Bohemia land system (numbers on diagram represent land units in table below). Unit 8, missing from original, has been added Table of Bohemia land system – land units. * Numbers in brackets refer to soil family or vegetation community/alliance in ‘General report on lands of the West Kimberley area, WA’ (Speck et al. 1970); + Pasture types described in Appendix 1. Note: Proportions and occurrence of pasture types within land units are subject to change over time due to invasion by native and introduced species, seasonal conditions, fire frequency and grazing management. Unit Approx. area (%) Landforms Soils* Vegetation* Pasture type+ 1 9 Summit remnants: up to 800m wide; sandy slopes, less than 1%. Red sands of variable depth on laterite: Cockatoo family (7). Spinifex grassland and very open woodland. Triodia intermedia community (57) and Eucalyptus brevifolia alliance (1a, 2). HSPP 2 17 Stripped surfaces and marginal breakaways: up to 1.6km wide, stony slopes up to 5%, with frequent laterite exposures and with marginal breakaways up to 6m high. Laterite and pallid-zone remnants, some outcrops of bedrock and some deep red sands: Cockatoo family (7). As for unit 1. HSHP 3 7 Slopes below breakaways: concave, up to 5% and up to 800m long; dissected up to 6m into narrow rounded spurs with marginal slopes Much outcrop with some shallow reddish sands high in laterite fragments: Yabbagoddy family (1). Much bare ground. Low open woodland with Triodia intermedia. E. brevifolia alliance (1a, 2); locally 1c. HSHP
attaining 10%; colluvial mantles. 4 28 Rocky plateaux and hills: flat or gently sloping plateaux to 150m high, with steep escarpments; hills to 90m high with slopes up 70%, and basal scree slopes up to 45%. Much sandstone outcrop with some reddish gravelly skeletal soils (24). Open spinfex with scattered stunted trees, much bare rock. Triodia intermedia community (57). HSHP 5 17 Hill-footslopes: concave up to 10% and up to 1.6km long; dissected up to 9m into narrow spurs with marginal slopes up to 60%; colluvial mantles. Much outcrop with some yellowish stony skeletal soils (24). As for unit 4. HSHP 6 8 Valley floor slopes: mainly less than 2% and up to 1.6km long; dissected up to 3m with local slopes to 10%; sealed, scalded surfaces. Probably brownish stony sands and loams over red clay: Moonah family (17). Mixed open grassy woodland communities (1f, 38c, locally 15). ASGP 7 3 Drainage floors: up to 400m wide, gradients 1 in 100 to 1 in 500. Brownish loamy alluvial soil: Robinson family (21) Low woodland with Triodia bitextura. Bauhinia cunninghamii alliance (38a). SSPP 8 11 Channels: up to 30m wide and 4.5m deep, gradients ranging from 1 to 30 in hillslope channels to 1 in 500 in main channels. Bed-loads mainly sand and pebbles. Fringing communities (40, 41). FRIP 60% FRGP 40% Buchanan land system (Bch), size: 1057km2, publication source: OVC Gently undulating sandy country in the central-western part of the Ord-Victoria survey area. Location map showing coverage of Buchanan land system defined by black region.
State land type: Sandplains and dunes with acacia shrublands and spinifex. Geology: Mudstone, siltstone and minor sandstone of Upper Proterozoic or Mesozoic age, laterite and minor Quaternary aeolian sand deposits. Geomorphology: Plains and low residuals formed by erosion of the Kimberley surface; flat-topped mesas with laterite ring plains. Land management: Little used system, vegetation unattractive to livestock, stable, very low susceptibility to erosion; controlled burning may be desirable. Image of gently undulating plains (unit 2) of the Bulka land system show lines of parent rock material beneath shallow soils. Vegetation is mostly lobed (hard) spinifex (Triodia intermedia) grasslands. Width of this 2004 aerial photograph is about 4km. Photo: Landgate Stylised block diagram showing location of land units for the Bulka land system (numbers on diagram represent land units in table below) Table of Bulka land system – land units. + Pasture types described in Appendix 1. Note: Proportions and occurrence of pasture types within land units are subject to change over time due to invasion by native and introduced species, seasonal conditions, fire frequency and grazing management. Unit area (%) Landforms Soils Vegetation Pasture type+ 1 10 Hills and low rises: up to 15m high; flat or gently sloping rocky crests up to 0.8km wide. Lithosols; outcrops of mudstone and sandstone. Grassland of Triodia with very scattered Acacia spp. shrubs. HSHP 2 60 Undulating plains: with laterised shale strew and occasional outcrop of laterite, laterised shale strew. Lithosols; shallow reddish brown coarse sandy loams over laterite and mudstone. Grasslands dominated by Triodia intermedia with very scattered Acacia translucens and Eremophila bignoniiflora, patches Triodia pungens and Eucalyptus pruinosa. HSPP 90% SSPP 10% 3 25 Sandplain islands: up to 1.6km wide. Deep red sands with patches of thin laterite Open grassy shrublands of Triodia bitextura, CSPP
strew. Acacia tumida and Grevillea 4 5 Pans and drainage depressions: less than 0.8km wide; depressions less than 0.3m deep. Grey tough alluvial clays and depressions of sandy loam soils. Low fringing woodlands and grasslands of Triodia bitextura, Triodia pungens and Eucalyptus pruinosa. CSPP 50% SSPP 50% Image of lobed (hard) spinifex (Triodia intermedia) is the dominant grass of the hills, low rises and stony undulating plains in Bulka land system. Photo: Simon Eyres, DAFWA 2008 Burramundi land system (Bur), size: 895km2, publication source: WKY Rocky rounded hills and undulating terrain, skeletal soils, spinifex and scattered low trees. Location map showing coverage of Burramundi land system defined by black region. State land type: Hills and ranges with spinifex grasslands. Geology: Flat-bedded or gently dipping Devonian conglomerate and sandstone, or Upper Proterozoic tillite. Geomorphology: Formed by dissection of the Kimberley surface - hill lands: secondary divides up to 20km wide consisting of hills with gently rounded or bevelled crests up to 800m wide, and marginal alluvial aprons; moderately dense, radial pattern of incised drainage with restricted alluvial drainage floors in the lowest sectors; relief up to 150 m. Land management: Most of the system supports hard spinifex pastures of very low pastoral value. Alluvial aprons and drainage floors (units 3 & 4) support more attractive pastures and have minor susceptibility to erosion. Image of rounded hills and hill spurs with hard spinifex grasslands are a feature of the Burramundi land system. Photo: DAFWA 1972 Stylised block diagram showing location of land units for the Burramundi land system (numbers on diagram represent land units in table below) Table of Burramundi land system - land units. * Numbers in brackets refer to soil family or vegetation community/alliance in ‘General report on lands of the West Kimberley area, WA’ (Speck et al. 1970); + Pasture types described in Appendix 1.
Note: Proportions and occurrence of pasture types within land units are subject to change over time due to invasion by native and introduced species, seasonal conditions, fire frequency and grazing management. Unit area (%) Landforms Soils* Vegetation* Pasture type+ 1 68 Hillslopes: boulder- and cobble-strewn up to 40%, with lower slopes dissected up to 15m into rounded spurs, up to 800m wide, with marginal slopes up to 25%. Outcrop of reddish bouldery coarse-textured soils (24). Open spinifex with scattered small trees and low open woodlands with Triodia intermedia, Eucalyptus brevifolia alliance (1a) and 57. Communities 1d and 54 in higher-rainfall parts. HSHP 2 2 Boulder fans and aprons: up to 1200m long, slopes less than 10%, with upper talus fans to 25%; dissected up to 9m at head and 1.5m distally. Bouldery coarse-textured skeletal soils (24). Very open woodlands with Triodia bitextura. E. brevifolia alliance (1d). CAHP 3 20 Alluvial aprons: up to 2.4km long, gradients 1 in 80 to 1 in 200; sealed surfaces with pebble patches. Shallow, reddish and yellowish sandy soils; Yabbagoddy (1) and Tableland (5) families. Open woodland with Chrysopogon spp. and scattered short annual grasses. Corymbia dichromophloia alliance (9b). RGRP 4 5 Alluvial drainage floors: up to 275m wide, gradients 1 in 100 to 1 in 300. Brownish loamy alluvial soils: Robinson family (21). Very open woodlands with clumps of Triodia bitextura, C. dichromophloia alliance (8c). CSPP 5 5 Channels: up to 30m wide and 1.8m deep. Bed-loads range from sand to boulders Open fringing woodland with mixed tall frontage grasses. Bauhinia cunninghamii and Adansonia gregorii alliances (39, 33). FRIP Image of the rounded hill spurs characteristic of Burramundi land system show clearly in this 2005 aerial photograph. Photo width is about 3.7km. Photo: Landgate