Soil Electrical Conductivity (EC)

AUS-AKW-CON-SEC General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

25 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

Upper Detrimental Threshold: An EC value exceeding 25 dS/m is identified as the upper detrimental threshold.

Metric Definition:

Soil Electrical Conductivity (EC) measured as 1:5 soil-to-water extract in the topsoil (0-30 cm)

Benchmark Definition:

Upper limit of soil electrical conductivity beyond which ecosystem health is compromised due to physiological stress on native vegetation in the Arid Karstic Woodlands & Shrublands biome.

Justification:

Values above 25 dS/m exceed the physiological tolerance of halophytes, leading to stress, dieback, and ecosystem degradation.

Supporting Sources (1)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Preview of TERN AusPlots, Ecosystem Surveillance Monitoring, Australia
TERN AusPlots, Ecosystem Surveillance Monitoring, Australia
Direct Evidence

TERN AusPlots, Ecosystem Surveillance Monitoring, Australia

View Source

Context

  • Region Australia
  • Biome Arid Karstic Woodlands & Shrublands
  • Land Use Conservation / Protected Natural Areas
  • Assessment Pristine Reference
  • Vegetation Shrubland
  • Evidence Type DegradationThreshold

Lifecycle

  • Status Active
  • Version 1
  • Effective From 7 Jun 2026

Notes

Exceeding this threshold leads to loss of perennial cover, bare salt scalds, and increased erosion.

Related Benchmarks

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

15.2 dS/m Moderate
Conservation / Protected Natural Areas · Pristine Reference · Shrubland
Point Active v1
— dS/m Moderate
Conservation / Protected Natural Areas · Pristine Reference · Shrubland
OptimalRange Active v1
0.4 dS/m Moderate
Conservation / Protected Natural Areas · Pristine Reference · Shrubland
MinimumOnly Active v1