Soil Moisture — Benchmark Detail

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range

Range: 0.9 to 1 %

Optimal Range: 0.9 to 1

Direction: Higher is desirable ↑

Form: OptimalRange

Scoring Curve

Scoring curve unavailable

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

Contributing Benchmarks

CompositeFramework Primary OptimalRange Guard OptimalRange Guard LowerThreshold Guard OptimalRange Guard CompositeFramework Guard Point Guard

Evidence & Context

This benchmark is defined as: A TERN SMIPS "Proportion Full" index for the 0-90 cm soil profile of 0.9 – 1.0.

Metric Definition:

TERN SMIPS 'Proportion Full' index for the 0-90 cm soil profile representing soil moisture state.

Benchmark Definition:

The benchmark represents a fully recharged soil moisture profile (i.e., at or near field capacity) immediately following an ecologically beneficial flood event.

Justification:

This state is achieved in healthy, resilient River Red Gum forests subject to overbank flooding every 3-5 years.

Sources (1)

Preview of Quantifying water requirements of riparian river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia – implications for the management of environmental flows

Quantifying water requirements of riparian river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia – implications for the management of environmental flows Journal

Quantifying water requirements of riparian river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia – implications for the management of environmental flows

View Source

Supporting Sources (1)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Australian dryland soils are acidic and nutrient-depleted, and have unique microbial communities compared with other drylands - PMC

Contextual Support Government

(PDF) Ecological response of Eucalyptus camaldulensis (river red ..., accessed July 19, 2025

View Source

Context

Region Australia
Biome Arid Inland Floodplains & Ephemeral River Systems
Land Use Production Forestry
Assessment Pristine Reference
Evidence Type ReferenceCondition

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 1
Effective From 22 Mar 2026

Notes

No upper detrimental threshold — higher values are always better up to natural saturation. The benchmark is expected to be met immediately following an appropriate flood and will then naturally decline over the subsequent 3-5 years until the next flood pulse arrives.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-AIF-FOR-SMO family.