Soil Organic Carbon (SOC)

AUS-TMS-LVG-SOC General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

2.15 %
Direction: Higher is desirable ↑
Form: Point

Scoring Curve

Scoring curve unavailable

The scoring engine could not generate a curve for this benchmark context. The primary form is Point, 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.

Evidence & Context

Based on the review, the following benchmark is proposed: Reference Value: 2.15% SOC

Metric Definition:

Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) percentage in the 0-10 cm soil layer under best-practice livestock grazing in Australian Tropical Monsoonal Savannas.

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark represents the percentage of Soil Organic Carbon in the top 0-10 cm of soil under best-practice livestock grazing in the Tropical Monsoonal Savannas of Australia, indicating a high level of environmental health.

Justification:

This value is a direct field measurement of SOC percentage in the specified 0-10 cm soil layer from a Red Chromosol soil type under approximately 20 years of planned rotational regenerative grazing, representing a 'best-on-offer' real-world state of high environmental health.

Sources (1)

Preview of Regenerative grazing management in the Burdekin catchment: a space-for-time study of vegetation and soil condition
Regenerative grazing management in the Burdekin catchment: a space-for-time study of vegetation and soil condition Journal

Do regenerative grazing management practices improve vegetation and soil health in grazed rangelands? Preliminary insights from a space-for-time study in the Great Barrier Reef catchments, Australia - CSIRO Publishing

View Source

Supporting Sources (17)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Preview of (PDF) Can changes to pasture management reduce runoff and sediment loss to the Great Barrier Reef? The results of a 10-year study in the Burdekin catchment, Australia - ResearchGate, accessed May 14, 2025,
(PDF) Can changes to pasture management reduce runoff and sediment loss to the Great Barrier Reef? The results of a 10-year study in the Burdekin catchment, Australia - ResearchGate, accessed May 14, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

(PDF) Can changes to pasture management reduce runoff and sediment loss to the Great Barrier Reef? The results of a 10-year study in the Burdekin catchment, Australia - ResearchGate

View Source
Preview of (PDF) Soil Organic Carbon - ResearchGate
(PDF) Soil Organic Carbon - ResearchGate
Contextual Support Journal

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

View Source
Preview of ASC - VERTOSOLS - Soil Science Australia
ASC - VERTOSOLS - Soil Science Australia
Contextual Support

What are the optimum nutrient targets for pastures? - Soil Health Knowledgebase

View Source
Preview of Brigalow Belt - Wikipedia, accessed July 10, 2025,
Brigalow Belt - Wikipedia, accessed July 10, 2025,
Contextual Support GreyLiterature

State Soils - Soil Science Australia

View Source
Preview of Carbon | Australia state of the environment 2021
Carbon | Australia state of the environment 2021
Contextual Support Government

Carbon | Australia state of the environment 2021

View Source
Preview of Critical review of the impacts of grazing intensity on soil organic carbon storage and other soil quality indicators in extensiv - Murdoch Research Portal, accessed August 5, 2025,
Critical review of the impacts of grazing intensity on soil organic carbon storage and other soil quality indicators in extensiv - Murdoch Research Portal, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Critical review of the impacts of grazing intensity on soil organic carbon storage and other soil quality indicators in extensiv - Murdoch Research Portal

View Source
Preview of Do regenerative grazing management practices improve vegetation and soil health in grazed rangelands? Preliminary insights from a space-for-time study in the Great Barrier Reef catchments, Australia - CSIRO Publishing, accessed August 5, 2025,
Do regenerative grazing management practices improve vegetation and soil health in grazed rangelands? Preliminary insights from a space-for-time study in the Great Barrier Reef catchments, Australia - CSIRO Publishing, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Ludwig, J.A., Bastin, G.N., Chewings, V.H., Eager, R.W., and Liedloff, A.C. (2005). Clearing savannas for use as rangelands in Queensland: Altered landscapes and water-erosion processes. Rangeland Journal, 27(2), 135-149.

View Source
Preview of Do regenerative grazing management practices improve vegetation and soil health in grazed rangelands? Preliminary insights from, accessed August 5, 2025,
Do regenerative grazing management practices improve vegetation and soil health in grazed rangelands? Preliminary insights from, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support

The effect of climate change on pastoralism in the Australian arid and semi-arid rangelands - Nuffield Farming Scholarships, accessed July 29, 2025,

View Source
Preview of Impacts of fire on soil organic carbon stocks in a grazed semi-arid tropical Australian savanna: Accounting for landscape variability | Request PDF - ResearchGate
Impacts of fire on soil organic carbon stocks in a grazed semi-arid tropical Australian savanna: Accounting for landscape variability | Request PDF - ResearchGate
Contextual Support Journal

Impacts of fire on soil organic carbon stocks in a grazed semi-arid tropical Australian savanna: Accounting for landscape variability | Request PDF - ResearchGate

View Source
Preview of Liu, X. et al. (2023). Fire regime has a greater impact on soil microbial abundance than on soil organic carbon in a tropical savanna. Wildlife Research.
Liu, X. et al. (2023). Fire regime has a greater impact on soil microbial abundance than on soil organic carbon in a tropical savanna. Wildlife Research.
Contextual Support

Short‐term impact of fire on the total soil microbial and nitrifier communities in a wet savanna

View Source
Preview of Managing Semi-Arid Rangelands for Carbon Storage: Grazing and Woody Encroachment Effects on Soil Carbon and Nitrogen | PLOS One
Managing Semi-Arid Rangelands for Carbon Storage: Grazing and Woody Encroachment Effects on Soil Carbon and Nitrogen | PLOS One
Cross Reference Journal

Managing Semi-Arid Rangelands for Carbon Storage: Grazing and Woody Encroachment Effects on Soil Carbon and Nitrogen | PLOS One

View Source
Preview of Mapping soil organic carbon fractions for Australia, their stocks, and uncertainty - BG, accessed August 5, 2025,
Mapping soil organic carbon fractions for Australia, their stocks, and uncertainty - BG, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Effect of fire and tree‐grass patches on soil nitrogen in Australian tropical savannas

View Source
Preview of Plant compensation to grazing and soil carbon dynamics in a tropical grassland - PeerJ
Plant compensation to grazing and soil carbon dynamics in a tropical grassland - PeerJ
Direct Evidence Journal

Plant compensation to grazing and soil carbon dynamics in a tropical grassland - PeerJ

View Source
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 Journal

Managing cattle grazing intensity: effects on soil organic matter and soil nitrogen, accessed July 23, 2025

View Source
Preview of Soil organic carbon increase on conversion of native savanna to improved pasture in two regions of Colombia - CGSpace
Soil organic carbon increase on conversion of native savanna to improved pasture in two regions of Colombia - CGSpace
Contextual Support Journal

Tropical Forests and Grasslands (Savanna) - Soils 4 Teachers

View Source
Preview of What is soil organic carbon? | Agriculture and Food
What is soil organic carbon? | Agriculture and Food
Contextual Support Government

What is soil organic carbon? | Agriculture and Food

View Source
Preview of www.carboncowboys.org
www.carboncowboys.org
Contextual Support Journal

www.carboncowboys.org

View Source

Context

  • Region Australia
  • Biome Tropical Monsoonal Savannas
  • Land Use Livestock Grazing & Pasture
  • Assessment Not Stated
  • Evidence Type ReferenceCondition

Lifecycle

  • Status Active
  • Version 1
  • Effective From 2 Jun 2026

Notes

Lower Critical Threshold: 0.7 %. No upper detrimental threshold — higher values are always better up to natural saturation. Optimal Range Low: 2 % AssessmentContext defaulted to 'Not Stated' because the source document did not state one.