Soil Organic Carbon (SOC)

AUS-TGP-FOR-SOC General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

1 %

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 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.

Contributing Benchmarks

Point Primary MinimumOnly Guard

Evidence & Context

Lower Critical Threshold: A SOC level below approximately 1.0% (Chromosols) or 1.2% (Vertosols) in the top 0–10 cm is considered critically low, indicating significant degradation of soil structure, nutrient cycling, and water retention capacity.

Metric Definition:

Critical lower threshold of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) concentration in the 0–10 cm soil layer below which ecosystem function is impaired

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark defines the critical lower threshold of Soil Organic Carbon concentration in Chromosol soils below which soil structure, nutrient cycling, and water retention are significantly degraded in temperate grassy woodlands and plains under production forestry.

Justification:

Based on observed ~50-60% SOC loss when woodlands are converted to intensive agriculture, indicating impaired soil functions.

Sources (1)

Preview of Carbon storage in the soils and vegetation of contrasting land uses in northern New South Wales, Australia

Carbon storage in the soils and vegetation of contrasting land uses in northern New South Wales, Australia GreyLiterature

Drying temperature effects on bulk density and carbon density determination in soils of northern New South Wales

Supporting Sources (16)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Preview of (PDF) Soil carbon sequestration in rangelands: A critical review of ...

(PDF) Soil carbon sequestration in rangelands: A critical review of ...

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Soil condition | NSW State of the Environment

Preview of A Revegetation Guide for Eucalypt Woodlands - Greening Australia, accessed August 10, 2025,

A Revegetation Guide for Eucalypt Woodlands - Greening Australia, accessed August 10, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Australia's Native Vegetation Framework - DAFF

Preview of Baseline map of organic carbon in Australian soil to support national carbon accounting and monitoring under climate change - PubMed Central, accessed August 5, 2025,

Baseline map of organic carbon in Australian soil to support national carbon accounting and monitoring under climate change - PubMed Central, accessed August 5, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Soil Organic Matter and Carbon Sequestration

Preview of Description | Environment, land and water - Queensland Government

Description | Environment, land and water - Queensland Government

Contextual Support Journal

ten key steps to conserving Australia's temperate eucalypt woodlands - the UWA Profiles and Research Repository

Preview of Forest Terminology Explained

Forest Terminology Explained

Irrelevant Journal

Adaptive silviculture in regrowth eucalypt forests in Victoria and the implications for water, wood, wildlife and wildfire | Request PDF - ResearchGate

Preview of Predicting and regulating soil carbon in a warmer world | TERN Australia, accessed August 28, 2025,

Predicting and regulating soil carbon in a warmer world | TERN Australia, accessed August 28, 2025,

Contextual Support Government

Fact Sheets Soil Organic Carbon Storage in the Western Avon Basin - WA

Preview of Processes underpinning natural capital account compilation highlight the potential for low-input grazing to mitigate farm carbon emissions while also improving biodiversity outcomes - CSIRO PUBLISHING | The Rangeland Journal

Processes underpinning natural capital account compilation highlight the potential for low-input grazing to mitigate farm carbon emissions while also improving biodiversity outcomes - CSIRO PUBLISHING | The Rangeland Journal

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Processes underpinning natural capital account compilation highlight the potential for low-input grazing to mitigate farm carbon emissions while also improving biodiversity outcomes - CSIRO PUBLISHING | The Rangeland Journal

Preview of Processes underpinning natural capital account compilation highlight the potential for low-input grazing to mitigate farm carbon emissions while also improving biodiversity outcomes - CSIRO PUBLISHING | The Rangeland Journal, accessed August 12, 2025,

Processes underpinning natural capital account compilation highlight the potential for low-input grazing to mitigate farm carbon emissions while also improving biodiversity outcomes - CSIRO PUBLISHING | The Rangeland Journal, accessed August 12, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Vegetation change in an urban grassy woodland 1974–2000 - CSIRO Publishing

Preview of Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential: A review for Australian agriculture - MLA

Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential: A review for Australian agriculture - MLA

Contextual Support Journal

Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential: A review for Australian agriculture - MLA

Preview of Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential: A review for Australian agriculture - MLA, accessed August 5, 2025,

Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential: A review for Australian agriculture - MLA, accessed August 5, 2025,

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Coexistence of shrubs and grass in a semi-arid landscape: a case study of mulga (Acacia aneura, Mimosaceae) shrublands embedded in fire-prone spinifex (Triodia pungens, Poaceae) hummock grasslands - CSIRO PUBLISHING | Australian Journal of Botany

Preview of Soil Carbon Snapshot - Agriculture Victoria, accessed August 5, 2025,

Soil Carbon Snapshot - Agriculture Victoria, accessed August 5, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Soil Carbon Snapshot - Agriculture Victoria

Preview of Soil condition | NSW State of the Environment, accessed August 10, 2025,

Soil condition | NSW State of the Environment, accessed August 10, 2025,

Contextual Support Government

Analysing water sensitive urban design options - Australian Water Association

Preview of Temporal fragmentation of a critically endangered forest ecosystem - Threatened Species Recovery Hub

Temporal fragmentation of a critically endangered forest ecosystem - Threatened Species Recovery Hub

Contextual Support Journal

Farm Forestry - Forest & Wood Products Australia

Preview of The importance of travelling stock reserves for maintaining high-quality threatened temperate woodlands - CSIRO PUBLISHING | Australian Journal of Botany, accessed August 12, 2025,

The importance of travelling stock reserves for maintaining high-quality threatened temperate woodlands - CSIRO PUBLISHING | Australian Journal of Botany, accessed August 12, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Approved Conservation Advice for the White Box - Yellow Box - Blakely's Red Gum Grassy Woodland and Derived Native Grassland - DCCEEW

Preview of VERTISOLS (VR), accessed July 21, 2025

VERTISOLS (VR), accessed July 21, 2025

Contextual Support Journal

Modeling the vertical distribution of soil organic carbon in temperate forest soils on the basis of solute transport - Frontiers

Preview of Woodlands - DCCEEW, accessed August 5, 2025,

Woodlands - DCCEEW, accessed August 5, 2025,

Contextual Support Government

Woodlands - DCCEEW, accessed August 4, 2025,

Context

Region Australia
Biome Temperate Grassy Woodlands & Plains
Land Use Production Forestry
Assessment Not Stated
Evidence Type DegradationThreshold

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 1
Effective From 6 Jun 2026

Notes

Represents a functional degradation threshold below which soil health and ecosystem processes are significantly compromised. AssessmentContext defaulted to 'Not Stated' because the source document did not state one.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-TGP-FOR-SOC family.