Soils of tertiary calcareous rocks in the mountains of western Nelson, New Zealand

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Abstract
Landscapes and soils are described for some 225 km2 of plateaux and hill country on Tertiary calcareous rocks in western Nelson. The landscapes lie between c. 800 and 1500 m above sea level, and have a cool, wet climate. They have been differentiated into three Landscape Units: the Matiri Range unit for the mudstone hill and steep land; the Matiri Tops unit for the limestone plateaux and remnants; and the Matiri Valley unit for the scarp and debris slopes. Bedrock lithology ranges from limestone to mudstone. The thick soils on gently undulating to easy rolling slopes on either limestone or mudstone have mottled, grey, heavy textured, very poorly drained subsoils. Thin soils on limestone have near neutral pH values in horizons just above the parent rock, but strongly acid pH values in their topsoils. They are high country gley soils. On moderately steep slopes, soils have mottled, yellowish brown, heavy textured, imperfectly drained, strongly acid subsoils; they are strongly gleyed, strongly leached high country yellow-brown earths. On steep slopes, skeletal soils are very thin, non-mottled, grey, heavy textured, and moderately well drained. Skeletal soils on limestone have near neutral pH values.