Soil Organic Carbon (SOC)

AUS-TSW-AGR-SOC General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range

Range: 0.9 to 1.5 %

Optimal Range: 0.9 to 1.5

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 10 benchmarks together — the OptimalRange form drives the primary score, while 9 guard(s) constrain the result.

Contributing Benchmarks

OptimalRange Primary OptimalRange Guard MinimumOnly Guard LowerThreshold Guard OptimalRange Guard Point Guard LowerThreshold Guard OptimalRange Guard OptimalRange Guard Point Guard

Evidence & Context

A broadly applicable optimal functional range for sustainable agricultural production and ecological health in this biome is approximately 0.9% to 1.5% SOC.

Metric Definition:

Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) content in the 0-10 cm soil layer

Benchmark Definition:

Optimal functional range for Soil Organic Carbon in the 0-10 cm soil layer representing healthy, resilient, and productive soil state in temperate semi-arid shrublands and open woodlands under agricultural cropping.

Justification:

Soils within this range are considered to be in good condition, capable of supporting productive crops and resilient to moderate stress.

Sources (1)

Thinking about a soil carbon project? Understand soil data first ... GreyLiterature

Thinking about a soil carbon project? Understand soil data first ...

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Supporting Sources (4)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Can soil organic matter be increased in a continuous cropping system in the low to medium rainfall zone? | Birchip Cropping Group

Contextual Support

(PDF) Soil carbon dynamics under different cropping and pasture management in temperate Australia: Results of three long-term experiments - ResearchGate, accessed August 4, 2025,

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Organic Carbon Storage - WA | Fact Sheets | soilquality.org.au, accessed July 6, 2025,

Contextual Support Government

Organic Carbon Storage - WA | Fact Sheets | soilquality.org.au

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Soil Carbon Saturation: What Do We Really Know? - PMC - PubMed Central

Contextual Support Journal

Soil Carbon Saturation: What Do We Really Know? - PMC - PubMed Central

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Thinking about a soil carbon project? Understand soil data first ..., accessed August 5, 2025,

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Challenging claimed benefits of soil carbon sequestration for mitigating climate change and increasing crop yields: Heresy or sober realism? - PubMed Central

View Source

Context

Region Australia
Biome Temperate Semi-Arid Shrublands & Open Woodlands
Land Use Agricultural Crop Production
Assessment Pristine Reference
Evidence Type HealthyOperationalRange

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 2
Effective From 20 Mar 2026

Notes

Upper end of this range (>1.3%) represents transition into high health or best available condition state.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-TSW-AGR-SOC family.