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Story: Soils

Melanic soil

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Melanic soil

The black topsoil rich in organic matter contrasts with the underlying white, calcareous parent material. This Ōamaru soil is prized for growing crops and for market gardening.

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Massey University

Reference: Les Molloy, Soils in the New Zealand landscape: the living mantle. Lincoln: New Zealand Society of Soil Science, 1988, plates 12.11; 12.10 (inset)

by Quentin Christie

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How to cite this page

Allan Hewitt, Soils – Wet and rock type-dominated soils, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/12338/melanic-soil (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by Allan Hewitt, published 1 March 2009.