Soil Electrical Conductivity (EC)

AUS-AMR-CON-SEC General High confidence

Benchmark Value

0.2 dS/m
Direction: Lower is desirable ↓
Form: MaximumOnly

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 MaximumOnly Guard MinimumOnly Guard OptimalRange Guard MaximumOnly Guard LowerThreshold Guard OptimalRange Guard UpperThreshold Guard OptimalRange Guard MaximumOnly Guard

Evidence & Context

A conservative and representative benchmark for the best available condition is therefore proposed as < 0.20 dS/m.

Metric Definition:

Soil Electrical Conductivity (EC) is a measure of the ability of soil water to conduct an electrical current, measured as saturated paste extract (ECe).

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark represents the typical upper range of soil electrical conductivity observed in high-health, minimally disturbed conservation areas within the Australian Arid Mountain Ranges & Uplands biome.

Justification:

This value is inferred from modelled data from the Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia, corroborated by the known soil characteristics of reference sites like the TERN Alice Mulga SuperSite.

Sources (2)

Preview of Alice Mulga SuperSite | Soil & Vegetation Monitoring - TERN Australia, accessed July 22, 2025,
Alice Mulga SuperSite | Soil & Vegetation Monitoring - TERN Australia, accessed July 22, 2025, Government

Great Western Woodlands, Ground Water Data, 2014 - TERN Data Discovery Portal, accessed July 10, 2025,

View Source
Preview of Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia - esoil.io, accessed July 13, 2025
Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia - esoil.io, accessed July 13, 2025 Government

Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia - esoil.io, accessed July 26, 2025,

View Source

Supporting Sources (1)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Preview of Soil Electrical Conductivity - Natural Resources Conservation Service, accessed May 16, 2025,
Soil Electrical Conductivity - Natural Resources Conservation Service, accessed May 16, 2025,
Direct Evidence Journal

USDA 12

View Source

Context

  • Region Australia
  • Biome Arid Mountain Ranges & Uplands
  • Land Use Conservation / Protected Natural Areas
  • Assessment Conservation Target
  • Evidence Type ReferenceCondition

Lifecycle

  • Status Active
  • Version 1
  • Effective From 21 Mar 2026

Notes

In these ancient, naturally nutrient-poor ecosystems, a low EC is the healthy baseline condition. No upper detrimental threshold — higher values are always worse beyond this benchmark.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-AMR-CON-SEC family.

0.05 dS/m Moderate
Conservation / Protected Natural Areas · Conservation Target
LowerThreshold Active v1
— dS/m Moderate
Conservation / Protected Natural Areas · Conservation Target
OptimalRange Active v1
2 dS/m Moderate
Conservation / Protected Natural Areas · Conservation Target
UpperThreshold Active v1