A comparison of the soils from two areas of sorted step chenopod patternedground, at Fowlers Gap Field Station, western New South Wales.

Sorted step patterned ground at Fowlers Gap Field Station occurs within a v ariety of different Landsystem Units. Areas of sorted step patterned ground from Nuntherungie and Gap Hills Landsystems were selected and the soil pro perties compared. Soils from areas of sorted step patterned ground are comp osed of bare saline soils which surround the less saline vegetated soils. D espite occurring within different Landsystems, the suite of soil chemical p roperties (EC, soluble cations, and pH) between the bare and vegetated area within the patterned ground were statistically the same in most cases. Dif ferences in the suite of soil salts probably arise From variations in gilga i microtopography.