Soil Nitrogen

AUS-TSR-AGR-SON General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

500 mg/kg
Direction: Higher is desirable ↑
Form: MinimumOnly

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 7 benchmarks together — the OptimalRange form drives the primary score, while 6 guard(s) constrain the result.

Evidence & Context

Lower Critical Threshold: Evidence suggests a threshold near 500 mg/kg TN (corresponding to <0.5% SOC), below which soil ecosystem functions like nutrient cycling are severely compromised, and crop response to inputs is poor.

Metric Definition:

Total nitrogen concentration in soil below which soil ecosystem functions are severely compromised.

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark represents the minimum total nitrogen concentration in soil below which soil ecosystem functions are severely impaired, indicating poor soil health and reduced crop response.

Justification:

Based on evidence linking SOC below 0.5% and corresponding TN to severe functional degradation and poor crop response.

Sources (1)

Preview of Influence of environmental conditions and some soil chemical properties on the carbon and nitrogen contents of some tropical Australian rainforest soils - CSIRO PUBLISHING | Soil Research, accessed August 2, 2025
Influence of environmental conditions and some soil chemical properties on the carbon and nitrogen contents of some tropical Australian rainforest soils - CSIRO PUBLISHING | Soil Research, accessed August 2, 2025 Journal

(PDF) Influence of environmental conditions and some soil chemical properties on the carbon and nitrogen contents of some tropical Australian rainforest soils - ResearchGate

View Source

Supporting Sources (1)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Preview of Sub tropical banana nutrition - Hort Innovation
Sub tropical banana nutrition - Hort Innovation
Contextual Support

Sub tropical banana nutrition - Hort Innovation, accessed July 16, 2025,

View Source

Context

  • Region Australia
  • Biome Tropical & Subtropical Rainforests
  • Land Use Agricultural Crop Production
  • Assessment Not Stated
  • Evidence Type DegradationThreshold

Lifecycle

  • Status Active
  • Version 1
  • Effective From 9 Jun 2026

Notes

Represents a regime shift from integrated agroecosystem to input-dependent system. AssessmentContext defaulted to 'Not Stated' because the source document did not state one.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-TSR-AGR-SON family.