Soil Moisture

AUS-AMR-LVG-SMO General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range

Range: 10 to 22 %

Optimal Range: 10 to 22

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

For a sandy loam, this is ~10-22% VWC; for a clay, this is ~20-42% VWC.

Metric Definition:

Volumetric Water Content (VWC) percentage representing Plant Available Water Capacity (PAWC) for different soil textures.

Benchmark Definition:

The water held between the Permanent Wilting Point and Field Capacity representing available water for plants.

Justification:

This range represents the water readily available to sustain ecosystem functions in sandy loam soils.

Sources (1)

Understanding Soil Water Content and Thresholds for Irrigation Management, accessed July 28, 2025 Journal

Understanding Soil Water Content and Thresholds for Irrigation Management

View Source

Supporting Sources (21)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Preview of (PDF) Managing arid zone natural resources in Australia for spatial and temporal variability - An approach from first principles - ResearchGate, accessed July 6, 2025,

(PDF) Managing arid zone natural resources in Australia for spatial and temporal variability - An approach from first principles - ResearchGate, accessed July 6, 2025,

Contextual Support

(PDF) Managing arid zone natural resources in Australia for spatial and temporal variability - An approach from first principles - ResearchGate

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A fresh framework for the ecology of arid Australia - Research @ Flinders, accessed July 28, 2025

Contextual Support Journal

A fresh framework for the ecology of arid Australia - Research @ Flinders

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A Guide to Soil Moisture - ConnectedCrops, accessed May 15, 2025,

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

A Guide to Soil Moisture - ConnectedCrops

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Animal Production Science - CSIRO PUBLISHING, accessed July 28, 2025

Contextual Support Journal

Animal Production Science - CSIRO PUBLISHING

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Bulk Density - 20 - 30 cm | Central | Western Australia | Examine | soilquality.org.au, accessed July 28, 2025

Contextual Support Government

Restoration of degraded grazing country in the semi-arid areas of ...

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Discover the Top 6 Benefits of Regenerative Farming in Australia, accessed August 5, 2025,

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

The relationships between land management practices and soil condition and the quality of ecosystem services delivered from agri - DAFF

View Source

Discover the Top 6 Benefits of Regenerative Farming in Australia, accessed July 28, 2025

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Discover the Top 6 Benefits of Regenerative Farming in Australia

View Source

ESTIMATING EXTRACTABLE SOIL MOISTURE CONTENT FOR AUSTRALIAN SOILS - eWater, accessed August 9, 2025

Contextual Support Journal

Regenerative Agriculture - a literature review on the practices and ...

View Source

Global critical soil moisture thresholds of plant water stress - ResearchGate, accessed August 28, 2025

Contextual Support Journal

Global critical soil moisture thresholds of plant water stress - ResearchGate

View Source

Preview of Grazing management of Australian native woody regeneration as an effective nature-based climate-change solution - CSIRO Publishing, accessed July 10, 2025,

Grazing management of Australian native woody regeneration as an effective nature-based climate-change solution - CSIRO Publishing, accessed July 10, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Boom and bust for biodiversity in arid Australia

View Source

In a native pasture, landscape properties influence soil moisture more than grazing management

Contextual Support Journal

In a native pasture, landscape properties influence soil moisture more than grazing management

View Source

Maintaining groundcover to reduce erosion and sustain production - NSW Department of Primary Industries, accessed July 22, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Lang, D. (1979). Groundcover for pastures. Journal of Soil Conservation NSW.

View Source

Meat & Livestock Australia. (n.d.). Maintain ground cover. MLA.

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Report card on sustainable natural resource use in the rangelands

View Source

Preview of Regenerative Agriculture - a literature review on the practices and mechanisms used to improve soil health - DPIRD's Digital library, accessed August 5, 2025,

Regenerative Agriculture - a literature review on the practices and mechanisms used to improve soil health - DPIRD's Digital library, accessed August 5, 2025,

Contextual Support

Regenerative Land Management - HEALTHY SOILS AUSTRALIA

View Source

Response of Grazing Land Soil Health to Management Strategies: A Summary Review, accessed July 18, 2025,

Contextual Support

Grazing Practices and Soil Moisture | National Drought Mitigation Center

View Source

Soil health indicator sheet - Soil compaction (bulk density) - Minnesota Stormwater Manual, accessed July 30, 2025,

Contextual Support

Soil health indicator sheet - Soil compaction (bulk density) - Minnesota Stormwater Manual

View Source

Preview of Structure Development in Surficial Heavy Clay Soils: A Synthesis of Mechanisms - Australian Geomechanics Society, accessed July 18, 2025,

Structure Development in Surficial Heavy Clay Soils: A Synthesis of Mechanisms - Australian Geomechanics Society, accessed July 18, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Managing arid zone natural resources in Australia for spatial and temporal variability – an approach from first principles - CSIRO PUBLISHING | The Rangeland Journal

View Source

Preview of The relationships between land management practices and soil condition and the quality of ecosystem services delivered from agri - DAFF, accessed July 22, 2025,

The relationships between land management practices and soil condition and the quality of ecosystem services delivered from agri - DAFF, accessed July 22, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Maintaining groundcover to reduce erosion and sustain production - NSW Department of Primary Industries

View Source

Understanding Soil Water Content and Thresholds for Irrigation Management, accessed July 7, 2025,

Contextual Support Government

Pasture growth

View Source

Waterlogging | Fact Sheets | soilquality.org.au, accessed July 19, 2025,

Contextual Support Government

Waterlogging | Fact Sheets | soilquality.org.au

View Source

Waterlogging in Australian agricultural landscapes: a review of plant responses and crop models - ResearchGate, accessed July 7, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Manage wet soils – North East Victoria, Southern NSW and South West Victoria (Upper)

View Source

Context

Region Australia
Biome Arid Mountain Ranges & Uplands
Land Use Livestock Grazing & Pasture
Assessment Pristine Reference
Evidence Type ReferenceCondition

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 2
Effective From 25 Mar 2026

Notes

Values are derived from typical VWC at Field Capacity and Permanent Wilting Point for sandy loam soils in Australian arid uplands.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-AMR-LVG-SMO family.