Soil Organic Carbon (SOC)

AUS-TGP-AGR-SOC General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

1.5 %
Direction: Higher is desirable ↑
Form: Point

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.

Evidence & Context

An ambitious but achievable benchmark for a high-functioning sandy soil under best-practice cropping would be 1.5% SOC.

Metric Definition:

Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) percentage in the top 0-10 cm soil layer

Benchmark Definition:

Benchmark SOC for sandy soils under best-practice cropping systems in Australian Temperate Grassy Woodlands & Plains.

Justification:

Represents an ambitious but achievable target for inherently low-carbon sandy soils.

Sources (1)

Preview of Beefing up carbon capture | On-farm emissions case studies - Agriculture Victoria
Beefing up carbon capture | On-farm emissions case studies - Agriculture Victoria Government

Beefing up carbon capture | On-farm emissions case studies - Agriculture Victoria

View Source

Supporting Sources (4)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Preview of Development of a soil carbon benchmark matrix for central west NSW - IUSS
Development of a soil carbon benchmark matrix for central west NSW - IUSS
Direct Evidence Journal

Development of a soil carbon benchmark matrix for central west NSW - IUSS

View Source
Preview of How Much Carbon Can Soil Store - NSW | Fact Sheets | soilquality ...
How Much Carbon Can Soil Store - NSW | Fact Sheets | soilquality ...
Direct Evidence Government

How Much Carbon Can Soil Store - NSW | Fact Sheets | soilquality.org.au

View Source
Preview of Soil carbon dynamics under different cropping and pasture management in temperate Australia: Results of three long-term experiments - CSIRO Publishing
Soil carbon dynamics under different cropping and pasture management in temperate Australia: Results of three long-term experiments - CSIRO Publishing
Contextual Support Journal

Soil carbon dynamics under different cropping and pasture management in temperate Australia: Results of three long-term experiments - CSIRO Publishing

View Source
Preview of Soil organic carbon thresholds control fertilizer effects on carbon accrual in croplands worldwide - PMC
Soil organic carbon thresholds control fertilizer effects on carbon accrual in croplands worldwide - PMC
Direct Evidence Journal

Soil organic carbon thresholds control fertilizer effects on carbon accrual in croplands worldwide - PMC

View Source

Context

  • Region Australia
  • Biome Temperate Grassy Woodlands & Plains
  • Land Use Agricultural Crop Production
  • Assessment Not Stated
  • Evidence Type ReferenceCondition

Lifecycle

  • Status Active
  • Version 1
  • Effective From 6 Jun 2026

Notes

Lower Critical Threshold: 1.5 %. No upper detrimental threshold — higher values are always better up to natural saturation. Reaching this level signifies a significant improvement over the degraded baseline and indicates effective management to overcome natural limitations. AssessmentContext defaulted to 'Not Stated' because the source document did not state one.