Soil Electrical Conductivity (EC)

AUS-AMR-CON-SEC General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

0.2 dS/m

Direction: Lower is desirable ↓

Form: MaximumOnly

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 Point Guard OptimalRange Guard OptimalRange Guard OptimalRange Guard MaximumOnly Guard Point Guard OptimalRange Guard MaximumOnly Guard Point Guard OptimalRange Guard MinimumOnly Guard MaximumOnly Guard OptimalRange Guard MaximumOnly Guard

Evidence & Context

A conservative and representative benchmark for the best available condition is therefore proposed as < 0.20 dS/m.

Metric Definition:

Soil Electrical Conductivity (EC) measured as saturated paste extract (ECe)

Benchmark Definition:

The typical upper range of soil electrical conductivity observed in high-health, minimally disturbed conservation areas in the Arid Mountain Ranges & Uplands biome.

Justification:

This value is inferred from modelled data from the Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia, corroborated by the known soil characteristics of reference sites like the TERN Alice Mulga SuperSite.

Sources (1)

Preview of Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia - esoil.io, accessed July 13, 2025

Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia - esoil.io, accessed July 13, 2025 Government

UPTAKE OF ARSENIC BY NATIVE PLANTS GROWING ON GOLD TAILINGS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIAN RANGELANDS1

View Source

Supporting Sources (5)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

A BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE FLINDERS RANGES SOUTH AUSTRALIA - Enviro Data SA

Contextual Support Journal

A BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE FLINDERS RANGES SOUTH AUSTRALIA - Enviro Data SA, accessed July 28, 2025

View Source

Alice Mulga SuperSite | Soil & Vegetation Monitoring - TERN Australia, accessed July 22, 2025,

Direct Evidence Government

Great Western Woodlands, Ground Water Data, 2014 - TERN Data Discovery Portal, accessed July 10, 2025,

View Source

MacDonnell Ranges bioregion - DCCEEW

Contextual Support Journal

Soil Constraints in an Arid Environment—Challenges, Prospects ...

View Source

Soil Electrical Conductivity - Natural Resources Conservation Service, accessed May 16, 2025,

Direct Evidence Journal

USDA 12

View Source

TERN Soil Data Federator - CSIRO Data Access Portal, accessed May 16, 2025,

Direct Evidence Government

TERN Soil Data Federator - CSIRO Data Access Portal

View Source

Context

Region Australia
Biome Arid Mountain Ranges & Uplands
Land Use Conservation / Protected Natural Areas
Assessment Pristine Reference
Evidence Type ReferenceCondition

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 1
Effective From 7 Jun 2026

Notes

Represents the natural reference state characterized by very low salinity in the Arid Mountain Ranges & Uplands biome under conservation management.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-AMR-CON-SEC family.