Soil Water Infiltration Rate

AUS-AMR-AGR-SWI General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

33 mm/hr

Direction: Higher is desirable ↑

Form: Point

Scoring Curve

Scoring curve unavailable

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

Evidence & Context

Based on the measured average steady-state flow rate (33.3 mm/hr) at the managed (ponded) Hamilton Downs site, which has a Medium Clay soil.

Metric Definition:

Soil water infiltration rate measured as steady-state infiltration in mm/hr.

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark represents the rate at which water infiltrates into medium to heavy clay soils under best-practice regenerative cropping in the Australian Arid Mountain Ranges & Uplands biome.

Justification:

This value is anchored to real-world data from the Hamilton Downs site, representing a conservative, field-verified proxy for hydrological function achievable through management in the target biome.

Sources (2)

Comparing infiltration rates in soils managed with conventional and alternative farming methods: A meta-analysis Journal

Comparing infiltration rates in soils managed with conventional and alternative farming methods: A meta-analysis

View Source

Comparing infiltration rates in soils managed with conventional and alternative farming methods: A meta-analysis, accessed July 6, 2025, Journal

Chapter 7 Nutrient Leaching - SIPS Soil & Crop Sciences Section

View Source

Supporting Sources (2)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Report on the Condition of Agricultural Land in South Australia - Department for Environment and Water

Direct Evidence Journal

Rainfall infiltration and runoff from an Alfisol in semi-arid tropical India. I. No-till systems1

View Source

Water ponding for pastoral production in central Australia

Direct Evidence Journal

Infiltration.pdf - Natural Resources Conservation Service

View Source

Context

Region Australia
Biome Arid Mountain Ranges & Uplands
Land Use Agricultural Crop Production
Assessment Not Stated
Evidence Type ReferenceCondition

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 1
Effective From 4 Jun 2026

Notes

Lower Critical Threshold: 10 mm/hr. The optimal functional range for medium/heavy clay soils is 20-50 mm/hr. Higher infiltration rates are generally beneficial for these soils due to their high water-holding capacity. AssessmentContext defaulted to 'Not Stated' because the source document did not state one.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-AMR-AGR-SWI family.