Soil Moisture

AUS-TSR-FOR-SMO General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

22.1 % VWC

Direction: Higher is desirable ↑

Form: Point

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

Evidence & Context

This benchmark represents the mean gravimetric soil moisture measured at 0-10 cm depth in a minimally disturbed, high-integrity Complex Mesophyll Vine Forest at the TERN Daintree SuperSite.

Metric Definition:

Mean gravimetric soil moisture at 0-10 cm depth

Benchmark Definition:

Mean gravimetric soil moisture at 0-10 cm depth in a minimally disturbed tropical rainforest soil.

Justification:

Selected as the best available proxy for a 'best available condition' due to a documented lack of monitoring data from production forestry sites.

Sources (5)

Preview of Global critical soil moisture thresholds of plant water stress - PMC, accessed July 19, 2025,

Global critical soil moisture thresholds of plant water stress - PMC, accessed July 19, 2025, Journal

Global critical soil moisture thresholds of plant water stress - PMC, accessed July 20, 2025

View Source

Soil disturbance rehabilitation: A desk guide to techniques and monitoring - Forest Service, accessed July 20, 2025 Journal

Soil disturbance rehabilitation: A desk guide to techniques and monitoring - Forest Service, accessed July 20, 2025

View Source

Preview of Soil health assessment of forest soils [Chapter 6] - Forest Service, accessed July 30, 2025

Soil health assessment of forest soils [Chapter 6] - Forest Service, accessed July 30, 2025 Journal

Soil health assessment of forest soils [Chapter 6] - Forest Service, accessed July 20, 2025

View Source

Preview of Soil Research - CSIRO PUBLISHING, accessed July 20, 2025,

Soil Research - CSIRO PUBLISHING, accessed July 20, 2025, Journal

Soil Research - CSIRO PUBLISHING, accessed July 30, 2025,

View Source

Preview of TERN. TERN – Australia's Ecosystem Observatory Network, highlights for 2018-2023.

TERN. TERN – Australia's Ecosystem Observatory Network, highlights for 2018-2023. Government

Daintree Rainforest, Cape Tribulation BASE Contextual, Soil ..., accessed July 20, 2025

View Source

Context

Region Australia
Biome Tropical & Subtropical Rainforests
Land Use Production Forestry
Assessment Not Stated
Evidence Type ReferenceCondition

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 2
Effective From 10 Jun 2026

Notes

No upper detrimental threshold — higher values are always better up to natural saturation. The soil is an acidic, dystrophic, brown Dermosol with a texture of 45% sand, 29% silt, and 26% clay (clay loam). This benchmark value should be interpreted within a functional range defined by critical thresholds. The Lower Critical Threshold for the onset of water stress in this biome is estimated at a volumetric water content (VWC) of approximately 0.26 m³/m³. An Optimal Range for peak ecosystem activity is indicated by a water-filled pore space of 0.25–0.79. There is no fixed Upper Detrimental Threshold; rather, high soil moisture becomes detrimental when combined with mechanical operations, causing severe soil compaction. AssessmentContext defaulted to 'Not Stated' because the source document did not state one.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-TSR-FOR-SMO family.