Fungal:Bacterial Ratio

AUS-AIF-AGR-SFB General Low confidence

Benchmark Value

0.1 index
Direction: Higher is desirable ↑
Form: MinimumOnly

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.

Evidence & Context

An F:B ratio < 0.1 indicates a critically degraded, dysfunctional state prone to nutrient loss and dominated by early-successional weeds.

Metric Definition:

Fungal:Bacterial Ratio indicating the lower critical threshold below which soil function is impaired.

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark defines the lower critical threshold of the fungal to bacterial ratio below which soil health is severely degraded, leading to nutrient loss and dominance by early-successional weeds in the Arid Inland Floodplains biome under agricultural crop production.

Justification:

Based on literature characterizing microbial conditions associated with degraded soils and early-successional weed dominance.

Sources (2)

Preview of Soil Fungal:Bacterial Ratios Are Linked to Altered Carbon Cycling - PMC - PubMed Central, accessed July 19, 2025
Soil Fungal:Bacterial Ratios Are Linked to Altered Carbon Cycling - PMC - PubMed Central, accessed July 19, 2025 Journal

Soil Fungal:Bacterial Ratios Are Linked to Altered Carbon Cycling - PMC - PubMed Central

View Source
Preview of The incorporation of fungal to bacterial ratios and plant ecosystem effect traits into a state-and-transition model of land-use change in semi-arid grasslands - Research @ Flinders, accessed August 3, 2025
The incorporation of fungal to bacterial ratios and plant ecosystem effect traits into a state-and-transition model of land-use change in semi-arid grasslands - Research @ Flinders, accessed August 3, 2025 Journal

The incorporation of fungal to bacterial ratios and plant ecosystem effect traits into a state-and-transition model of land-use change in semi-arid grasslands - Research @ Flinders

View Source

Context

  • Region Australia
  • Biome Arid Inland Floodplains & Ephemeral River Systems
  • Land Use Agricultural Crop Production
  • Assessment Not Stated
  • Evidence Type DegradationThreshold

Lifecycle

  • Status Active
  • Version 1
  • Effective From 8 Jun 2026

Notes

Persistently low F:B ratio below 0.1 indicates loss of fungal function and soil health. AssessmentContext defaulted to 'Not Stated' because the source document did not state one.