Soil Moisture

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range

Range: 12 to 20 % VWC

Optimal Range: 12 to 20

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

The benchmark represents the Plant Available Water (PAW) range for a Clay Loam soil, which is characteristic of the TERN Great Western Woodlands SuperSite²a globally significant, intact, and well-monitored arid woodland under conservation management.

Metric Definition:

Soil moisture as volumetric water content (VWC) representing the water available in the soil between the Permanent Wilting Point (PWP) and Field Capacity (FC).

Benchmark Definition:

The functional range of soil moisture between the Permanent Wilting Point and Field Capacity for clay loam soils in arid mountain ranges under conservation management.

Justification:

The TERN Great Western Woodlands SuperSite serves as a premier 'best-on-offer' real-world example of a high-integrity conservation landscape. Its sustained ecological health on red sandy clay loam and calcareous duplex soils validates that maintaining the soil moisture regime within the PAW range for those textures constitutes a benchmark condition.