Soil Structure & Compaction

AUS-TSW-LVG-SSC General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range

Range: 0 to 500 kPa

Optimal Range: 0 to 500

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 13 benchmarks together — the OptimalRange form drives the primary score, while 12 guard(s) constrain the result.

Contributing Benchmarks

OptimalRange Primary MaximumOnly Guard LowerThreshold Guard MaximumOnly Guard MaximumOnly Guard MinimumOnly Guard MaximumOnly Guard MinimumOnly Guard MaximumOnly Guard OptimalRange Guard LowerThreshold Guard MinimumOnly Guard MaximumOnly Guard

Evidence & Context

The GRDC diagnostic framework, developed for Australian conditions, defines a penetration resistance of < 500 kPa as 'Not compacted' or 'Loose'.

Metric Definition:

Soil penetration resistance measured by cone penetrometer indicating ideal soil physical condition for root growth.

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark defines the ideal soil penetration resistance range indicating no compaction in temperate semi-arid shrublands and open woodlands under livestock grazing and pasture.

Justification:

Represents an ideal, unconstrained physical environment for root growth.

Supporting Sources (3)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Impact of agricultural land use on distribution of microbial biomass and activity within soil aggregates - ResearchGate

Contextual Support Journal

Plant responses to livestock grazing frequency in an Australian temperate grassland, accessed August 8, 2025,

View Source

Managing sandy soils across low-rainfall regions of south-eastern Australia (GRDC Fact Sheet)

Direct Evidence Journal

Managing sandy soils across low-rainfall regions of south-eastern Australia (GRDC Fact Sheet)

View Source

Soil Compaction Explained - Soil Quality Knowledge Base, accessed August 2, 2025,

Contextual Support

grdc.com.au

View Source

Context

Region Australia
Biome Temperate Semi-Arid Shrublands & Open Woodlands
Land Use Livestock Grazing & Pasture
Assessment Pristine Reference
Evidence Type ReferenceCondition

Lifecycle

Status Retired
Version 1
Effective From 21 Mar 2026
Effective To 24 Mar 2026

Notes

This range represents an ideal state with no physical limitations on root growth. No upper detrimental threshold — higher values are always better up to natural saturation. Retired via Evidence Integrity Review on 2026-03-24 09:41 UTC — all DirectEvidence sources confirmed dead or inaccessible.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-TSW-LVG-SSC family.