Soil Water Infiltration Rate
Benchmark Value
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 11 benchmarks together — the OptimalRange form drives the primary score, while 10 guard(s) constrain the result.
Evidence & Context
A Lower Critical Threshold for SWIR is proposed at < 30 mm/hr, with infiltration rates < 10 mm/hr (e.g., 5 mm/hr) indicative of severely degraded soil conditions.
Soil Water Infiltration Rate (SWIR) is the soil's capacity to absorb and transmit water from the surface through the soil profile.
This benchmark defines the minimum soil water infiltration rate of 30 mm/hr below which soil function is considered severely degraded in temperate dry woodlands and native grasslands under agricultural crop production.
The Central West LLS explicitly states that infiltration rates below 30 mm/hr increase runoff and erosion risk, and rates around 5 mm/hr represent critically low soil hydrological function.
Sources (2)
Healthy soils and water infiltration in the paddock - Local Land Services - NSW Government
View SourceSoil Structural Decline - Can the Trend be Reversed? - Agronomy Australia Proceedings
View SourceSupporting Sources (3)
Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.
Effects of crop and pasture rotations and surface cover on rainfall infiltration on a Kandosol in south-west Queensland - ResearchGate
View Source
Farming for the future: optimising soil health for a sustainable future in Australian broadacre cropping - Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC)
View Source
Comparing infiltration rates in soils managed with conventional and alternative farming methods: A meta-analysis
View Source