Soil Moisture

AUS-AMR-CON-SMO General High confidence

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range
Range: 12 to 20 %
Thresholds: Lower: 12, Upper: —
Optimal Range: 12 to 20
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.

Evidence & Context

The benchmark represents the Plant Available Water (PAW) range for a Clay Loam soil, which is characteristic of the TERN Great Western Woodlands SuperSite—a globally significant, intact, and well-monitored arid woodland under conservation management.

Metric Definition:

Soil moisture as volumetric water content (VWC) percentage representing Plant Available Water (PAW) between Permanent Wilting Point (PWP) and Field Capacity (FC)

Benchmark Definition:

The benchmark is defined as the Plant Available Water (PAW) range for the soil type at the reference site, representing the functional soil moisture range between Permanent Wilting Point and Field Capacity.

Justification:

The TERN Great Western Woodlands SuperSite serves as a premier 'best-on-offer' real-world example of a high-integrity conservation landscape. Its sustained ecological health on red sandy clay loam and calcareous duplex soils validates that maintaining the soil moisture regime within the PAW range for those textures constitutes a benchmark condition.

Sources (1)

Preview of The Great Western Woodlands TERN SuperSite: ecosystem monitoring infrastructure and key science learnings
The Great Western Woodlands TERN SuperSite: ecosystem monitoring infrastructure and key science learnings Journal

The Great Western Woodlands TERN SuperSite: ecosystem monitoring infrastructure and key science learnings

View Source

Supporting Sources (4)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Preview of Break Crops - Stubble Management Guidelines, accessed July 27, 2025,
Break Crops - Stubble Management Guidelines, accessed July 27, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Plant available water: How do I determine field capacity and permanent wilting point?

View Source
Preview of Deserts of Australia - Wikipedia, accessed July 6, 2025,
Deserts of Australia - Wikipedia, accessed July 6, 2025,
Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Soil Salinity and pH Drive Soil Bacterial Community Composition and Diversity Along a Lateritic Slope in the Avon River Critical Zone Observatory, Western Australia - Frontiers, accessed August 3, 2025

View Source
Preview of Plant available water: How do I determine field capacity and permanent wilting point?, accessed July 7, 2025,
Plant available water: How do I determine field capacity and permanent wilting point?, accessed July 7, 2025,
Contextual Support GreyLiterature

A global dataset of remote sensing-based soil critical point and ...

View Source
Preview of Soil Groups of Western Australia - SoilsWest
Soil Groups of Western Australia - SoilsWest
Contextual Support Journal

Soil Groups of Western Australia - SoilsWest

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 22 Mar 2026

Notes

A single point value is inappropriate for this indicator. The lower critical threshold is the Permanent Wilting Point (PWP), below which lasting damage to soil biota can occur. No detrimental upper threshold from natural precipitation is identified; the functional ceiling is the soil's Field Capacity (FC).