Microbial Respiration
Benchmark Value
Scoring Curve
This curve shows how a field measurement for this indicator would score across all available benchmark forms in this context.
Evidence & Context
Lower Critical Threshold < 10 Represents a degraded state with severely compromised biological function.
Basal microbial respiration rate representing soil biological activity and ecosystem function.
This benchmark represents the minimum microbial respiration rate below which soil biological function is severely compromised, indicating a degraded pasture system in tropical and subtropical rainforest regions under livestock grazing.
This threshold is anchored by the measured value of 6.9 mg CO2-C/kg/day from a degraded cropped soil in Australia. A pasture system whose biological activity falls to this level has effectively lost the key soil functions that differentiate it from an intensive monoculture.
Sources (1)
The influence of land use and management on the ... - EGUsphere, accessed July 19, 2025
View SourceSupporting Sources (4)
Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.
Soil health: the foundation of sustainable agriculture - 2001 ...
View SourceGrazing intensity influence soil microbial communities and their ..., accessed July 19, 2025
View SourceHow to determine an OPTIMAL soil respiration (or microbial ..., accessed July 19, 2025
View Source
Temperate Grasslands - Greening Australia, accessed August 12, 2025,
View Source