Soil Nitrogen

AUS-AIF-FOR-SON General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

500 mg/kg

Thresholds: Lower: 500, Upper: —

Direction: Higher is desirable ↑

Form: MinimumOnly

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 LowerThreshold Guard UpperThreshold Guard Point Guard MinimumOnly Guard OptimalRange Guard MaximumOnly Guard Point Guard OptimalRange Guard Point Guard LowerThreshold Guard OptimalRange Guard UpperThreshold Guard Point Guard OptimalRange Guard MaximumOnly Guard Point Guard MinimumOnly Guard MaximumOnly Guard OptimalRange Guard OptimalRange Guard

Evidence & Context

A lower critical threshold is identified at levels below 500 mg/kg, indicating significant soil degradation and compromised ecosystem function.

Metric Definition:

Total Soil Nitrogen concentration in the topsoil (0–30 cm)

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark defines the lower critical threshold of total soil nitrogen concentration in the top 30 cm of soil below which significant soil degradation and ecosystem function compromise occur in production forestry in the Arid Inland Floodplains & Ephemeral River Systems biome.

Justification:

Levels below 500 mg/kg indicate severe degradation and compromised ecosystem function.

Sources (1)

Preview of Changes in soil carbon and nitrogen stocks following tree clearing were estimated at 32 rangeland sites in central and southern Queensland

Changes in soil carbon and nitrogen stocks following tree clearing were estimated at 32 rangeland sites in central and southern Queensland Journal

Changes in soil carbon and nitrogen stocks following tree clearing were estimated at 32 rangeland sites in central and southern Queensland

View Source

Context

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

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 1
Effective From 24 Mar 2026

Notes

Lower Critical Threshold: 500 mg/kg. No upper detrimental threshold — higher values are always better up to natural saturation. Indicates significant nutrient depletion, compromised tree health, poor regeneration, and loss of ecosystem resilience.

Related Benchmarks

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