Soil Organic Carbon (SOC)

AUS-TSW-CON-SOC General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range

Range: 1.35 to 1.74 %

Thresholds: Lower: 1, Upper: —

Optimal Range: 1.35 to 1.74

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 6 benchmarks together — the OptimalRange form drives the primary score, while 5 guard(s) constrain the result.

Contributing Benchmarks

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

Evidence & Context

The "best-on-offer" reference values, representing the 75th percentile of observed SOC in high-functioning pasture systems, range from approximately 1.35% for sandy soils to 1.74% for clay loam soils in the top 0-10 cm.

Metric Definition:

Soil Organic Carbon concentration in the top 0-10 cm soil layer differentiated by soil texture.

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark represents the 75th percentile of Soil Organic Carbon concentration in the top 0-10 cm soil layer, indicating the best available condition in high-functioning conservation systems within temperate semi-arid shrublands and open woodlands.

Justification:

These values represent an achievable state of high ecological health in well-managed conservation areas and are derived from a large, geographically and climatically relevant dataset stratified by soil texture.

Sources (1)

Soil Carbon in South Australia: Volume 4 - Benchmarks and Data analysis for the Agricultural Zone 1990-2007 Journal

Soil Carbon in South Australia: Volume 4 - Benchmarks and Data analysis for the Agricultural Zone 1990-2007

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Supporting Sources (12)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

(PDF) Soil carbon sequestration in rangelands: A critical review of ...

Contextual Support Journal

Environmental drivers of soil organic carbon in the Australian rangelands - ResearchGate, accessed July 28, 2025,

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An ensemble estimate of Australian soil organic ... - EGUsphere, accessed on June 7, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

AUSTRALIA'S STATE OF THE FORESTS REPORT - DAFF, accessed March 28, 2026,

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Preview of Baseline map of organic carbon in Australian soil to support national carbon accounting and monitoring under climate change - PubMed Central, accessed August 5, 2025,

Baseline map of organic carbon in Australian soil to support national carbon accounting and monitoring under climate change - PubMed Central, accessed August 5, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Baseline map of organic carbon in Australian soil to support national carbon accounting and monitoring under climate change - PMC, accessed March 28, 2026,

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Critical range of soil organic carbon in southern Europe lands under desertification risk - IRIS UniPA

Direct Evidence Journal

Critical range of soil organic carbon in southern Europe lands under desertification risk - IRIS UniPA

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Key Considerations in Sequestering Carbon as Soil Organic Carbon, accessed July 26, 2025

Contextual Support Journal

Mapping soil organic carbon fractions for Australia, their stocks, and uncertainty - BG

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Soil carbon monitoring and trends - Department for Environment and Water, accessed August 5, 2025,

Contextual Support Government

Common soil types | Environment, land and water - Queensland Government

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

Contextual Support

Soil Compaction of Pastures - King Conservation District, accessed July 24, 2025

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Preview of Soil carbon sequestration in rangelands a critical review of the impacts of major management strategies - CSIRO Publishing, accessed August 5, 2025,

Soil carbon sequestration in rangelands a critical review of the impacts of major management strategies - CSIRO Publishing, accessed August 5, 2025,

Contextual Support

Soil carbon sequestration in rangelands a critical review of the impacts of major management strategies - CSIRO Publishing, accessed May 13, 2025,

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Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential: A review for Australian agriculture - MLA

Contextual Support Government

Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential: A review for Australian agriculture - MLA

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Soil Carbon Snapshot - Agriculture Victoria, accessed August 5, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Baseline map of organic carbon in Australian soil to support national carbon accounting and monitoring under climate change - PubMed Central, accessed July 28, 2025,

View Source

Soil field texture guide

Contextual Support Journal

Soil field texture guide

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Soil Monitoring for Conservation, Australia - Freaklabs

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Soil Monitoring for Conservation, Australia - Freaklabs

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Context

Region Australia
Biome Temperate Semi-Arid Shrublands & Open Woodlands
Land Use Conservation / Protected Natural Areas
Assessment Conservation Target
Evidence Type ReferenceCondition

Lifecycle

Status Superseded
Version 1
Effective From 20 Mar 2026
Effective To 20 Mar 2026

Notes

A single benchmark is scientifically indefensible; values must be differentiated by soil texture due to its dominant control on SOC potential. No detrimental upper threshold exists; the upper limit is defined by natural soil carbon saturation.

Related Benchmarks

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