Fungal:Bacterial Ratio

AUS-TSR-FOR-SFB General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range
Range: 2 to 4 index
Optimal Range: 2 to 4
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. The scoring engine uses 8 benchmarks together — the OptimalRange form drives the primary score, while 7 guard(s) constrain the result.

Contributing Benchmarks

OptimalRange Primary OptimalRange Guard OptimalRange Guard MinimumOnly Guard Point Guard OptimalRange Guard MinimumOnly Guard OptimalRange Guard

Evidence & Context

A scientifically defensible benchmark, therefore, is one that represents a significant retention of fungal biomass and function. It should sit comfortably above clearly bacterial-dominated systems and align with the values seen in healthy, less-disturbed forest ecosystems globally. An F:B ratio approaching the median value of 3.91 from the large-scale French forest study would indicate a very well-managed system. Therefore, the proposed benchmark for a high-health, best-practice production forestry system in this biome is an F:B ratio in the range of 2.0 to 4.0.

Metric Definition:

The ratio of fungal biomass to bacterial biomass in soil, indicating the dominant microbial energy channel and soil health status.

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark represents the healthy balance of fungal to bacterial biomass in soil for production forestry in tropical and subtropical rainforests of Australia, indicating robust soil ecosystem function and high ecological health.

Justification:

Derived by inference from global forest soil principles and logging impact studies due to lack of direct field data in this region; synthesizes multiple sources to establish a defensible reference range.

Sources (3)

Preview of "Analyzing Your Fungal To Bacterial Ratio Results" (Microbiometer)
"Analyzing Your Fungal To Bacterial Ratio Results" (Microbiometer)
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Analyzing your Fungal to Bacterial Ratio Results - MicroBiometer, accessed July 18, 2025 GreyLiterature

Analyzing your Fungal to Bacterial Ratio Results - microBIOMETER, accessed July 23, 2025

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Preview of Biogeographical patterns of the soil fungal:bacterial ratio across France - PubMed Central, accessed July 18, 2025
Biogeographical patterns of the soil fungal:bacterial ratio across France - PubMed Central, accessed July 18, 2025 Journal

Mechanisms and implications of bacterial–fungal competition for soil resources - PMC, accessed July 23, 2025

View Source

Supporting Sources (27)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Preview of (PDF) Sustainable harvesting of tropical rainforests: Reply to Keto, Scott and Olsen, accessed July 21, 2025
(PDF) Sustainable harvesting of tropical rainforests: Reply to Keto, Scott and Olsen, accessed July 21, 2025
Contextual Support Journal

(PDF) Sustainable harvesting of tropical rainforests: Reply to Keto, Scott and Olsen, accessed July 21, 2025

View Source
Preview of Age and Species of Eucalyptus Plantations Affect Soil Microbial ...
Age and Species of Eucalyptus Plantations Affect Soil Microbial ...
Contextual Support Journal

Contrasting Soil pH Effects on Fungal and Bacterial Growth Suggest Functional Redundancy in Carbon Mineralization - PMC, accessed July 21, 2025

View Source
Preview of Are Fungal to Bacterial Ratios (F:B Ratio) Important for Plant Growth? - Garden Myths, accessed July 28, 2025
Are Fungal to Bacterial Ratios (F:B Ratio) Important for Plant Growth? - Garden Myths, accessed July 28, 2025
Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Fungal/bacterial ratios in grasslands with contrasting nitrogen management, accessed July 23, 2025

View Source
Preview of Australia's State of the Forests Report, accessed August 12, 2025
Australia's State of the Forests Report, accessed August 12, 2025
Contextual Support Journal

Change in Organic Carbon in Forest Plantation Soils in Eastern ..., accessed July 20, 2025,

View Source
Preview of Australian dryland soils are acidic and nutrient-depleted, and have unique microbial communities compared with other drylands - PMC, accessed August 5, 2025,
Australian dryland soils are acidic and nutrient-depleted, and have unique microbial communities compared with other drylands - PMC, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

How should we manage our soils to increase soil carbon?, accessed May 10, 2026

View Source
Preview of Australian dryland soils are acidic and nutrient-depleted, and have unique microbial communities compared with other drylands - PMC, accessed July 21, 2025
Australian dryland soils are acidic and nutrient-depleted, and have unique microbial communities compared with other drylands - PMC, accessed July 21, 2025
Contextual Support Journal

Australian dryland soils are acidic and nutrient-depleted, and have unique microbial communities compared with other drylands - PMC, accessed July 21, 2025

View Source
Preview of Biodiversity Conservation in the Context of Tropical Forest Management - World Bank Documents and Reports, accessed July 21, 2025
Biodiversity Conservation in the Context of Tropical Forest Management - World Bank Documents and Reports, accessed July 21, 2025
Contextual Support Journal

Forest Ecology and Management Reduced-impact logging: Challenges and opportunities, accessed July 21, 2025

View Source
Preview of Biogeographical patterns of the soil fungal:bacterial ratio across France - ASM Journals, accessed July 28, 2025
Biogeographical patterns of the soil fungal:bacterial ratio across France - ASM Journals, accessed July 28, 2025
Contextual Support Journal

Beyond Bacteria: The Importance of Fungi, Protozoa and Nematodes in Soil Microbiology, accessed July 21, 2025

View Source
Preview of Effect of strategic tillage in soil microbial communities in Vertisols from Queensland, Australia - UQ eSpace, accessed July 17, 2025
Effect of strategic tillage in soil microbial communities in Vertisols from Queensland, Australia - UQ eSpace, accessed July 17, 2025
Contextual Support Journal

Effect of strategic tillage in soil microbial communities in Vertisols from Queensland, Australia - UQ eSpace, accessed July 21, 2025

View Source
Preview of Forest Ecology and Management Reduced-impact logging: Challenges and opportunities, accessed July 31, 2025
Forest Ecology and Management Reduced-impact logging: Challenges and opportunities, accessed July 31, 2025
Contextual Support

Australia's State of the Forests Report, accessed July 21, 2025

View Source
Preview of Forest Soil Bacteria: Diversity, Involvement in Ecosystem Processes, and Response to Global Change - PubMed Central, accessed July 21, 2025
Forest Soil Bacteria: Diversity, Involvement in Ecosystem Processes, and Response to Global Change - PubMed Central, accessed July 21, 2025
Contextual Support Journal

Forest Soil Bacteria: Diversity, Involvement in Ecosystem Processes, and Response to Global Change - PubMed Central, accessed July 21, 2025

View Source
Preview of Fungal to Bacterial Ratios: What and Why? - Ward Laboratories, Inc., accessed July 18, 2025
Fungal to Bacterial Ratios: What and Why? - Ward Laboratories, Inc., accessed July 18, 2025
Contextual Support Journal

Tagged with ratio of fungi to bacteria - The Prairie Ecologist, accessed July 21, 2025

View Source
Preview of Fungal/bacterial ratios in grasslands with contrasting nitrogen management, accessed July 19, 2025,
Fungal/bacterial ratios in grasslands with contrasting nitrogen management, accessed July 19, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Mechanisms and implications of bacterial–fungal competition for soil resources - PMC

View Source
Preview of Fungi to bacteria ratio: Historical misinterpretations and potential implications | Request PDF, accessed July 18, 2025
Fungi to bacteria ratio: Historical misinterpretations and potential implications | Request PDF, accessed July 18, 2025
Contextual Support Journal

Mechanisms and implications of bacterial–fungal competition for soil resources - PMC, accessed July 21, 2025

View Source
Preview of Fungi to bacteria ratio: Historical misinterpretations and potential implications | Request PDF, accessed July 21, 2025
Fungi to bacteria ratio: Historical misinterpretations and potential implications | Request PDF, accessed July 21, 2025
Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Fungi to bacteria ratio: Historical misinterpretations and potential implications | Request PDF, accessed July 21, 2025

View Source
Preview of Fungus and bacteria OH MY!! F:B Ratios explained - Mass Hydroponics
Fungus and bacteria OH MY!! F:B Ratios explained - Mass Hydroponics
Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Soil Fungal:Bacterial Ratios Are Linked to Altered Carbon Cycling - PMC - PubMed Central, accessed July 21, 2025

View Source
Preview of Microbial Compositions and Enzymes of a Forest Ecosystem in Alabama: Initial Response to Thinning and Burning Management Selections - Scientific Research Publishing, accessed July 21, 2025
Microbial Compositions and Enzymes of a Forest Ecosystem in Alabama: Initial Response to Thinning and Burning Management Selections - Scientific Research Publishing, accessed July 21, 2025
Contextual Support Journal

Microbial Compositions and Enzymes of a Forest Ecosystem in Alabama: Initial Response to Thinning and Burning Management Selections - Scientific Research Publishing, accessed July 21, 2025

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Preview of Nutrient distribution and cycling in a subtropical ... - CSIRO Publishing, accessed July 16, 2025,
Nutrient distribution and cycling in a subtropical ... - CSIRO Publishing, accessed July 16, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Nutrient distribution and cycling in a subtropical ... - CSIRO Publishing, accessed July 22, 2025

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Preview of Polycyclic Selection System for the Tropical Rainforests of Northern Australia1 - USDA Forest Service
Polycyclic Selection System for the Tropical Rainforests of Northern Australia1 - USDA Forest Service
Contextual Support Journal

Selective logging impacts on soil microbial communities and functioning in Bornean tropical forest - Frontiers, accessed July 21, 2025

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Preview of Selective logging impacts on soil microbial communities and functioning in Bornean tropical forest - PubMed Central, accessed July 21, 2025
Selective logging impacts on soil microbial communities and functioning in Bornean tropical forest - PubMed Central, accessed July 21, 2025
Contextual Support Journal

Selective logging impacts on soil microbial communities and functioning in Bornean tropical forest - PubMed Central, accessed July 21, 2025

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Preview of Soil and Landscape Grid National Soil Attribute Maps - Soil Bacteria and Fungi Beta Diversity (3" resolution) - Release 1 - Research Data Australia, accessed July 21, 2025
Soil and Landscape Grid National Soil Attribute Maps - Soil Bacteria and Fungi Beta Diversity (3" resolution) - Release 1 - Research Data Australia, accessed July 21, 2025
Contextual Support Journal

Soil and Landscape Grid National Soil Attribute Maps - Soil Bacteria and Fungi Beta Diversity (3" resolution) - Release 1 - Research Data Australia, accessed July 21, 2025

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Preview of Soil Fungal:Bacterial Ratios Are Linked to Altered Carbon Cycling - PMC - PubMed Central, accessed July 28, 2025
Soil Fungal:Bacterial Ratios Are Linked to Altered Carbon Cycling - PMC - PubMed Central, accessed July 28, 2025
Contextual Support Journal

The fungal-bacterial ratio for soil health - Farmer's Weekly, accessed July 21, 2025

View Source
Preview of Soil microbiome and biodiversity implications – are we ignoring cost-effective proxies of biodiversity measures? | TERN Australia, accessed on June 7, 2025,
Soil microbiome and biodiversity implications – are we ignoring cost-effective proxies of biodiversity measures? | TERN Australia, accessed on June 7, 2025,
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Environment Monitoring Systems & Data for Ecosystem Studies ...

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Preview of Soil-Related Bacterial and Fungal Infections - Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, accessed July 21, 2025
Soil-Related Bacterial and Fungal Infections - Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, accessed July 21, 2025
Contextual Support Journal

Soil-Related Bacterial and Fungal Infections - Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, accessed July 21, 2025

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Preview of Tagged with ratio of fungi to bacteria - The Prairie Ecologist, accessed July 28, 2025
Tagged with ratio of fungi to bacteria - The Prairie Ecologist, accessed July 28, 2025
Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Analyzing your Fungal to Bacterial Ratio Results - microBIOMETER, accessed July 21, 2025

View Source
Preview of The fungal-bacterial ratio for soil health - Farmer's Weekly, accessed July 28, 2025
The fungal-bacterial ratio for soil health - Farmer's Weekly, accessed July 28, 2025
Contextual Support GreyLiterature

The fungal-bacterial ratio for soil health - Farmer's Weekly

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Preview of What are the optimal fungal to bacterial biomass ratios for different crops? - ResearchGate, accessed July 28, 2025
What are the optimal fungal to bacterial biomass ratios for different crops? - ResearchGate, accessed July 28, 2025
Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Soil Fungal:Bacterial Ratios Are Linked to Altered Carbon ... - Frontiers, accessed July 21, 2025

View Source

Context

  • Region Australia
  • Biome Tropical & Subtropical Rainforests
  • Land Use Production Forestry
  • Assessment Conservation Target
  • Vegetation Forest
  • Evidence Type ReferenceCondition

Lifecycle

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

Notes

Lower Critical Threshold: 1 index. No upper detrimental threshold — higher values are always better up to natural saturation. The range 2.0–4.0 indicates a fungal-dominated soil system typical of high ecological health in production forestry.