Litter Cover

AUS-TMI-LVG-LIT General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

70 %
Thresholds: Lower: 70, Upper: —
Direction: Higher is desirable ↑
Form: LowerThreshold

Scoring Curve

Scoring curve unavailable

The scoring engine could not generate a curve for this benchmark context. The primary form is CompositeFramework, but the benchmark data may be missing required fields (e.g., optimal range bounds for an OptimalRange benchmark). This is typically a data quality issue in the benchmark pipeline.

Contributing Benchmarks

CompositeFramework Primary LowerThreshold Guard OptimalRange Guard LowerThreshold Guard UpperThreshold Guard OptimalRange Guard CompositeFramework Guard Point Guard MinimumOnly Guard MinimumOnly Guard OptimalRange Guard

Evidence & Context

A ground cover level below 70% indicates increasing erosion risk.

Metric Definition:

Ground cover level (%) indicating erosion risk and land condition status.

Benchmark Definition:

A ground cover level below 70% indicates increasing risk of soil erosion in tropical maritime island grazing lands.

Justification:

Industry bodies such as Meat & Livestock Australia identify 70% ground cover as the minimum to prevent soil erosion effectively.

Sources (2)

Preview of Assessing groundcover | MBFP | More Beef from Pastures - MLA, accessed August 10, 2025,
Assessing groundcover | MBFP | More Beef from Pastures - MLA, accessed August 10, 2025,

Revegetation - International Erosion Control Association

View Source
Preview of Requirements for graziers | Environment, land and water | Queensland Government, accessed July 30, 2025,
Requirements for graziers | Environment, land and water | Queensland Government, accessed July 30, 2025, Government

Soil Health & Your Wealth - presented by Graeme Sait - Regional Development Australia, accessed July 30, 2025,

View Source

Supporting Sources (3)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Preview of Managing ground cover for economic and sustainability outcomes on grazing lands in the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon catchments. - Queensland Government publications, accessed May 11, 2025,
Managing ground cover for economic and sustainability outcomes on grazing lands in the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon catchments. - Queensland Government publications, accessed May 11, 2025,
Regulatory Framework Journal

Effect of reduced grazing pressure on sediment and nutrient yields in savanna rangeland streams draining to the Great Barrier Reef - CSIRO Research Publications Repository, accessed July 19, 2025

View Source
Preview of Nutrient Cycling in Pastures - UF/IFAS Range Cattle Research & Education Center
Nutrient Cycling in Pastures - UF/IFAS Range Cattle Research & Education Center
Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Nutrient Cycling in Pastures - UF/IFAS Range Cattle Research & Education Center

View Source
Preview of The Wambiana grazing trial | FutureBeef, accessed July 19, 2025,
The Wambiana grazing trial | FutureBeef, accessed July 19, 2025,
Direct Evidence Journal

FutureBeef. (2011). The Wambiana grazing trial: Key learnings for managing for rainfall variability and land condition in northern grazing lands. Meat & Livestock Australia.

View Source

Context

  • Region Australia
  • Biome Tropical & Subtropical Maritime Islands
  • Land Use Livestock Grazing & Pasture
  • Assessment Pristine Reference
  • Evidence Type DegradationThreshold

Lifecycle

  • Status Superseded
  • Version 1
  • Effective From 19 Mar 2026
  • Effective To 19 Mar 2026

Notes

Below 70% cover signals increasing vulnerability to resource loss and erosion.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-TMI-LVG-LIT family.

50 % Moderate
Livestock Grazing & Pasture · Pristine Reference
LowerThreshold Active v2
90 % Moderate
Livestock Grazing & Pasture · Pristine Reference
UpperThreshold Active v1
— % Moderate
Livestock Grazing & Pasture · Conservation Target
OptimalRange Active v1