Soil Moisture

AUS-AMR-AGR-SMO General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

10 %

Direction: Higher is desirable ↑

Form: MaximumOnly

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 OptimalRange Guard OptimalRange Guard MinimumOnly Guard OptimalRange Guard MinimumOnly Guard

Evidence & Context

Soil function and plant growth are generally considered to become limited when the air-filled porosity (fA) falls below 10% of the total soil volume.

Metric Definition:

Air-filled porosity threshold below which soil anoxia occurs, limiting soil function and plant growth.

Benchmark Definition:

Upper critical threshold for soil moisture where oxygen deficiency begins to impair ecosystem function.

Justification:

Based on physiological studies of soil aeration and plant root respiration limits.

Sources (1)

Waterlogging in Australian agricultural landscapes: a review of plant responses and crop models - ResearchGate, accessed July 7, 2025, Journal

Waterlogging in Australian agricultural landscapes: a review of plant responses and crop models - ResearchGate

View Source

Supporting Sources (5)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Critical soil moisture thresholds of plant water stress in terrestrial ecosystems

Contextual Support Journal

Critical soil moisture thresholds of plant water stress in terrestrial ecosystems

View Source

Managing soils during and after drought in cropping systems - Fact sheet - Soil CRC, accessed July 27, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Managing soils during and after drought in cropping systems - Fact sheet - Soil CRC, accessed July 27, 2025,

View Source

Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia - CSIRO, accessed July 30, 2025,

Contextual Support Government

Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia - CSIRO

View Source

Soil quality indicators to assess functionality of restored soils in degraded semiarid ecosystems - Solvita, accessed July 27, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Soil quality indicators to assess functionality of restored soils in degraded semiarid ecosystems - Solvita, accessed July 27, 2025,

View Source

Preview of The impact, identification and management of dispersive soils in rainfed cropping systems - UQ eSpace - The University of Queensland, accessed July 6, 2025,

The impact, identification and management of dispersive soils in rainfed cropping systems - UQ eSpace - The University of Queensland, accessed July 6, 2025,

Direct Evidence Journal

Cover cropping impacts on soil water and carbon in dryland ...

View Source

Context

Region Australia
Biome Arid Mountain Ranges & Uplands
Land Use Agricultural Crop Production
Assessment Conservation Target
Evidence Type DegradationThreshold

Lifecycle

Status Retired
Version 1
Effective From 10 Jun 2026

Notes

This threshold marks the onset of anoxia and associated negative biogeochemical and physiological effects, including yield collapse and nutrient loss. Note: The 10% value refers to air-filled porosity, which is the inverse of volumetric soil moisture; this benchmark is flagged for review due to unit conceptual mismatch.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-AMR-AGR-SMO family.