Soil Water Infiltration Rate

AUS-TSR-CON-SWI General High confidence

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range

Range: 200 to 300 mm/hr

Thresholds: Lower: 200, Upper: 300

Optimal Range: 200 to 300

Direction: Lower 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 7 benchmarks together — the OptimalRange form drives the primary score, while 6 guard(s) constrain the result.

Contributing Benchmarks

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

Evidence & Context

A Significant Degradation Threshold can be established in the range of 200–300 mm/hr.

Metric Definition:

Soil water infiltration rate below which the soil can no longer effectively absorb typical rainfall, leading to degradation.

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark defines the lower critical threshold range of soil water infiltration rate below which significant degradation occurs in tropical and subtropical rainforest soils under conservation management in Australia.

Justification:

Based on the Gageler et al. (2014) study and corroborated by Wei et al. (2012), this range represents a state where the soil has lost its characteristic forest-like hydrological function.

Sources (6)

Preview of (PDF) Impacts of soil damage by grazing livestock on crop productivity

(PDF) Impacts of soil damage by grazing livestock on crop productivity Journal

Early Response of Soil Properties and Function to Riparian Rainforest Restoration | PLOS One - Research journals

View Source

Preview of Bioregions and EVC benchmarks - Environment, accessed August 5, 2025,

Bioregions and EVC benchmarks - Environment, accessed August 5, 2025, Government

Eastern NSW Plant Community Type Percentage Cleared Calculation Technical Notes - Environment and Heritage

View Source

Preview of Early Response of Soil Properties and Function to Riparian Rainforest Restoration - PMC, accessed August 2, 2025

Early Response of Soil Properties and Function to Riparian Rainforest Restoration - PMC, accessed August 2, 2025 Journal

Early response of soil properties and function to riparian rainforest restoration - UQ eSpace

View Source

Early response of soil properties and function to riparian rainforest restoration - PubMed, accessed August 2, 2025 Journal

Early response of soil properties and function to riparian rainforest restoration - PubMed

View Source

Preview of Gageler, R., et al. (2014). Restoring soil carbon, nitrogen and functionality in an Australian tropical catchment: a chronosequence approach. PLOS ONE, 9(8), e104198.

Gageler, R., et al. (2014). Restoring soil carbon, nitrogen and functionality in an Australian tropical catchment: a chronosequence approach. PLOS ONE, 9(8), e104198. Journal

Early Response of Soil Properties and Function to Riparian Rainforest Restoration - PMC

View Source

Preview of Runoff generation in tropical forests (Chapter 14) - Forests, Water and People in the Humid Tropics - Cambridge University Press

Runoff generation in tropical forests (Chapter 14) - Forests, Water and People in the Humid Tropics - Cambridge University Press GreyLiterature

Soil erosion as a resilience drain in disturbed tropical forests

View Source

Supporting Sources (2)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Chapter 5 Soil crusting and sealing - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Chapter 5 Soil crusting and sealing - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

View Source

Soil challenge - Method guides collection - v04 - partner ...

Contextual Support

Soils with low infiltration capacity - Minnesota Stormwater Manual

View Source

Context

Region Australia
Biome Tropical & Subtropical Rainforests
Land Use Conservation / Protected Natural Areas
Assessment Conservation Target
Evidence Type DegradationThreshold

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 1
Effective From 22 Mar 2026

Notes

A rainforest ecosystem whose soil infiltration has fallen to this level is no longer functioning hydrologically as a forest and has shifted towards a state more characteristic of a managed grassland or a highly disturbed system.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-TSR-CON-SWI family.