Soil Water Infiltration Rate

AUS-TSR-FOR-SWI General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range

Range: 48.7 to 154 mm/hr

Optimal Range: 48.7 to 154

Direction: Higher is desirable ↑

Form: OptimalRange

Scoring Curve

This curve shows how a field measurement for this indicator would score across all available benchmark forms in this context. The scoring engine uses 2 benchmarks together — the OptimalRange form drives the primary score, while 1 guard(s) constrain the result.

Contributing Benchmarks

OptimalRange Primary LowerThreshold Guard

Evidence & Context

In the undisturbed reference forest plots, the mean steady-state infiltrability was measured at 154 mm/hr on clay soil and 48.7 mm/hr on sandy soil.

Metric Definition:

Soil water infiltration rate, a measure of the speed at which water enters the soil profile.

Benchmark Definition:

Soil water infiltration rate is the speed at which water enters the soil profile, representing the healthy functioning of tropical rainforest soils under conservation conditions.

Justification:

These values represent the high environmental health state for this indicator in an unmanaged, intact ecosystem and serve as the essential baseline against which the performance of managed production forests must be assessed.

Sources (1)

Natural recovery of skid trails: a review Journal

Natural recovery of skid trails: a review

View Source

Supporting Sources (3)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

(PDF) Reduced-impact logging: Challenges and opportunities - ResearchGate, accessed July 31, 2025

Contextual Support Journal

Reduced-impact logging: Challenges and opportunities - ResearchGate

View Source

Runoff generation in tropical forests (Chapter 14) - Forests, Water and People in the Humid Tropics - Cambridge University Press

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Soil erosion as a resilience drain in disturbed tropical forests

View Source

Soil disturbance and post-logging forest recovery on bulldozer paths in Sabah, Malaysia | Request PDF - ResearchGate

Contextual Support Journal

Using ecosystem integrity to maximize climate mitigation and minimize risk in international forest policy - Frontiers

View Source

Context

Region Australia
Biome Tropical & Subtropical Rainforests
Land Use Production Forestry
Assessment Conservation Target
Vegetation Forest
Evidence Type ReferenceCondition

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 1
Effective From 20 Mar 2026

Notes

The benchmark values are derived by inference from undisturbed reference forest sites in a tropical rainforest context, as direct data for 'best-practice' Australian production forestry is unavailable. The target is the functional matrix (>90%) of a well-managed production forest operating under Reduced-Impact Logging (RIL) principles. No upper detrimental threshold — higher values are always better up to natural saturation.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-TSR-FOR-SWI family.