Soil Electrical Conductivity (EC)

AUS-TMI-CON-SEC General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range

Range: 0 to 0.4 dS/m

Optimal Range: 0 to 0.4

Direction: Lower 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

The optimal range for soil EC in these conservation areas is therefore defined as <0.4 dS/m (EC1:5).

Metric Definition:

Soil Electrical Conductivity (EC1:5) measured in a 1:5 soil:water suspension

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark defines the optimal soil electrical conductivity range indicating the highest ecosystem resilience in conservation areas of Australia's Tropical & Subtropical Maritime Islands biome.

Justification:

Combines 'Very low' and 'Low' salinity classes from the CSIRO manual to account for natural variation.

Sources (1)

Soil Analysis Methods and Results Interpretation ... - CSIRO Research Journal

Soil Analysis Methods and Results Interpretation ... - CSIRO Research

View Source

Supporting Sources (3)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Soil Research - CSIRO PUBLISHING, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Litchfield Savanna BASE Contextual, Soil Physico-Chemical Data ..., accessed May 20, 2025,

View Source

Wet Tropics region GLM land types - FutureBeef

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Wet Tropics region GLM land types - FutureBeef

View Source

www.publications.qld.gov.au, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Measuring soil salinity - The Australian Wine Research Institute

View Source

Context

Region Australia
Biome Tropical & Subtropical Maritime Islands
Land Use Conservation / Protected Natural Areas
Assessment Not Stated
Evidence Type HealthyOperationalRange

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 1
Effective From 7 Jun 2026

Notes

This range encompasses natural variability across soil types and microclimates while remaining non-saline. AssessmentContext defaulted to 'Not Stated' because the source document did not state one.

Related Benchmarks

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