Soil Nitrogen

AUS-TSW-CON-SON General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

300 mg/kg

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.

Contributing Benchmarks

CompositeFramework Primary Point Guard MinimumOnly Guard MaximumOnly Guard OptimalRange Guard Point Guard OptimalRange Guard MaximumOnly Guard CompositeFramework Guard

Evidence & Context

Proposed Lower Critical Threshold: < 300 mg/kg. Soils with total nitrogen levels below this value are likely to be severely degraded.

Metric Definition:

Lower critical threshold for total soil nitrogen indicating severe degradation

Benchmark Definition:

Minimum total soil nitrogen level below which soils are likely severely degraded in conservation areas of this biome.

Justification:

Soils with total nitrogen levels below this value are likely to be severely degraded, indicating a significant loss of the soil's organic fraction and nutrient capital.

Sources (1)

Preview of Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia; Soil nitrogen availability in the cereal zone of South Australia. I. Soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and nitrogen mineralisation rates

Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia; Soil nitrogen availability in the cereal zone of South Australia. I. Soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and nitrogen mineralisation rates Government

Soil and Landscape Grid National Soil Attribute Maps - Total Nitrogen (3" resolution) - Release 2

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Supporting Sources (3)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Preview of Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus on vegetation dynamics of a degraded native grassland in semi-arid south-eastern Australia - CSIRO PUBLISHING | The Rangeland Journal, accessed July 13, 2025,

Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus on vegetation dynamics of a degraded native grassland in semi-arid south-eastern Australia - CSIRO PUBLISHING | The Rangeland Journal, accessed July 13, 2025,

Direct Evidence Journal

(PDF) Grassland soil carbon and nitrogen stocks under temperate ..., accessed August 4, 2025,

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