Soil Electrical Conductivity (EC)

AUS-TMI-AGR-SEC General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

0.4 dS/m

Direction: Lower is desirable ↓

Form: Point

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 17 benchmarks together — the OptimalRange form drives the primary score, while 16 guard(s) constrain the result.

Contributing Benchmarks

OptimalRange Primary MinimumOnly Guard UpperThreshold Guard MaximumOnly Guard OptimalRange Guard Point Guard OptimalRange Guard MinimumOnly Guard Point Guard OptimalRange Guard MaximumOnly Guard MinimumOnly Guard MinimumOnly Guard OptimalRange Guard OptimalRange Guard OptimalRange Guard OptimalRange Guard

Evidence & Context

The resulting benchmark of 0.4 dS/m reflects a condition where soil possesses sufficient soluble nutrients to support healthy plant and microbial life but remains well below levels that would indicate unnatural salt accumulation or pose a salinity risk.

Metric Definition:

Soil Electrical Conductivity (EC) is a measure of the ability of the soil solution to conduct an electrical current, reflecting the concentration of soluble salts in the soil.

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark defines a soil electrical conductivity level in tropical maritime island agricultural crop production that balances nutrient availability and salinity stress, supporting healthy crop growth without salinity damage.

Justification:

The benchmark is based on a synthesis of natural baseline data from unmanaged coral cay soils and functional thresholds from analogous tropical agricultural systems, supported by soil science principles and crop salinity tolerance data.

Sources (3)

Characteristics of Coral Cay Soils at Coringa-Herald Coral Sea Islands Journal

Characteristics of Coral Cay Soils at Coringa-Herald Coral Sea Islands

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Characteristics of Coral Cay Soils at Coringa-Herald Coral Sea Islands - ResearchGate Journal

Salinity induced changes in esterase, peroxidase and alcohol dehydrogenase isozymes and leaf soluble proteins in salinity susceptible and salinity tolerant sugarcane genotypes

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Soil Analysis Methods and Results Interpretation ... - CSIRO Research Journal

Soil Analysis Methods and Results Interpretation ... - CSIRO Research

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Supporting Sources (2)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Salinity and mulching in banana production - Yara Australia

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Salinity and mulching in banana production - Yara Australia

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To evaluate the values of electrical conductivity and growth parameters of apple saplings in nursery fields - CiteSeerX

Contextual Support

To evaluate the values of electrical conductivity and growth parameters of apple saplings in nursery fields - CiteSeerX

View Source

Context

Region Australia
Biome Tropical & Subtropical Maritime Islands
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: 0.15 dS/m, below which nutrient availability and retention are likely compromised. Optimal Range: 0.2–0.8 dS/m, representing sufficient nutrient availability without salinity stress. Upper Detrimental Threshold: 1.7 dS/m, above which salinity stress negatively impacts tropical crops like sugarcane. The benchmark reflects a balance between nutrient availability and salinity stress in a high-rainfall, leaching-prone tropical island environment. AssessmentContext defaulted to 'Not Stated' because the source document did not state one.