Soil Nitrogen

AUS-TCF-CON-SON General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range

Range: 4000 to 6000 mg/kg

Optimal Range: 4000 to 6000

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

managed forests of Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) in Australia have been reported to contain between 0.4% and 0.6% total nitrogen in the topsoil.1 This range translates to 4 to 6 g N/kg soil, or 4000 to 6000 mg N/kg soil.

Metric Definition:

Total soil nitrogen content in the topsoil of Australian temperate forests dominated by Eucalyptus species.

Benchmark Definition:

Total soil nitrogen content in the topsoil of managed Eucalyptus regnans forests in Australian temperate coastal woodlands.

Justification:

This range is consistent with general descriptions of Australian temperate forest soils, which are often characterized as being highly weathered and very low in inherent nutrients.

Sources (1)

Carbon and nitrogen in forest soils: Potential indicators for sustainable management of eucalypt forests in south-eastern Australia | Request PDF - ResearchGate, accessed May 27, 2025, Journal

Carbon and nitrogen in forest soils: Potential indicators for ...

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Context

Region Australia
Biome Temperate Coastal Forests & Woodlands
Land Use Conservation / Protected Natural Areas
Assessment Pristine Reference
Vegetation Forest
Evidence Type ReferenceCondition

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 1
Effective From 24 Mar 2026

Notes

No upper detrimental threshold — higher values are always better up to natural saturation. Australian temperate forests, especially those dominated by Eucalyptus species, typically have total soil nitrogen concentrations in the lower to middle part of the spectrum.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-TCF-CON-SON family.