Soil Nitrogen

AUS-TSW-AGR-SON General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

1000 mg/kg

Direction: Higher is desirable ↑

Form: Point

Scoring Curve

This curve shows how a field measurement for this indicator would score across all available benchmark forms in this context.

Evidence & Context

For Clay soils, a value of 1000 mg/kg is proposed, derived from a large-scale survey of commercial farms.

Metric Definition:

Total Soil Nitrogen (TSN) in the topsoil (0-10 cm)

Benchmark Definition:

Total Soil Nitrogen concentration benchmark for Clay soils in the top 0-10 cm, representing achievable high function at scale in commercial cropping systems.

Justification:

Based on average Total Organic Carbon from a large-scale survey of 270 commercial cropping paddocks on Vertosols in Queensland.

Sources (1)

Preview of Opportunities for improving soil carbon and nitrogen stocks in low and medium rainfall cropping systems - GRDC, accessed July 6, 2025,

Opportunities for improving soil carbon and nitrogen stocks in low and medium rainfall cropping systems - GRDC, accessed July 6, 2025, Government

GRDC Soil Health Stocktake (2024)

View Source

Supporting Sources (1)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Strategic tillage of a long-term, no-till soil has little impact on soil characteristics or crop growth over five years

Contextual Support Journal

Strategic tillage of a long-term, no-till soil has little impact on soil characteristics or crop growth over five years

View Source

Context

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

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 1
Effective From 20 Mar 2026

Notes

Represents achievable high function at scale in clay soils. No upper detrimental threshold — higher values are always better up to natural saturation.

Related Benchmarks

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