Soil Nitrogen

AUS-TMI-CON-SON General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

6500 mg/kg
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 Point, 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.

Evidence & Context

The proposed 'best-on-offer' benchmark for total soil nitrogen in conservation areas on volcanic-derived soils (Krasnozems) within the Tropical & Subtropical Maritime Islands biome is 6,500 mg/kg.

Metric Definition:

Total soil nitrogen content in the top 10 cm of soil in conservation areas on volcanic-derived soils.

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark represents the mean total nitrogen content in the top 10 cm of volcanic-derived soils in conservation areas within the Tropical & Subtropical Maritime Islands biome, based on a proxy analogue study of subtropical rainforest on basaltic soils.

Justification:

Derived from a large-scale study of 17 intact subtropical rainforest sites on volcanic (basaltic) soils on the Australian mainland, serving as a high-fidelity analogue for the target conservation areas.

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 (10)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Preview of Australia's bioregions (IBRA) - DCCEEW, accessed July 15, 2025
Australia's bioregions (IBRA) - DCCEEW, accessed July 15, 2025
Contextual Support

Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA), Version 7 (Regions)

View Source
Preview of Christmas Island National Park - Wikipedia, accessed July 30, 2025,
Christmas Island National Park - Wikipedia, accessed July 30, 2025,
Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Norfolk Island - Wikipedia

View Source
Preview of Geology - Lord Howe Island Museum
Geology - Lord Howe Island Museum
Contextual Support Journal

Geology - Lord Howe Island Museum

View Source
Preview of Geology | Norfolk Island National Park | Parks Australia, accessed July 30, 2025,
Geology | Norfolk Island National Park | Parks Australia, accessed July 30, 2025,
Contextual Support Government

AGRICULTURAL AUDIT & LAND USE CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT ..., accessed July 30, 2025

View Source
Preview of Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia - Wikipedia, accessed August 2, 2025
Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia - Wikipedia, accessed August 2, 2025
Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia - Wikipedia

View Source
Preview of Soil and Landscape Grid National Soil Attribute Maps - Total Nitrogen (3" resolution) - Release 2 - CSIRO Data Access Portal, accessed August 5, 2025,
Soil and Landscape Grid National Soil Attribute Maps - Total Nitrogen (3" resolution) - Release 2 - CSIRO Data Access Portal, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Government

Geology | Norfolk Island National Park | Parks Australia

View Source
Preview of Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia - CSIRO, accessed July 30, 2025,
Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia - CSIRO, accessed July 30, 2025,
Contextual Support Government

Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia - CSIRO

View Source
Preview of Soil gross nitrogen transformations in forestland and cropland of Regosols - PMC
Soil gross nitrogen transformations in forestland and cropland of Regosols - PMC
Contextual Support Journal

Soil gross nitrogen transformations in forestland and cropland of Regosols - PMC

View Source
Preview of The Stories Beneath the Soil: Norfolk Island's Unique Flora and Its Secrets
The Stories Beneath the Soil: Norfolk Island's Unique Flora and Its Secrets
Contextual Support Government

Pulu Keeling National Park Management Plan 2015-2025 - DCCEEW

View Source
Preview of Total Nitrogen - DCCEEW, accessed August 8, 2025
Total Nitrogen - DCCEEW, accessed August 8, 2025
Contextual Support Government

Total Nitrogen - DCCEEW

View Source

Context

  • Region Australia
  • Biome Tropical & Subtropical Maritime Islands
  • Land Use Conservation / Protected Natural Areas
  • Assessment Conservation Target
  • Evidence Type HealthyOperationalRange

Lifecycle

  • Status Active
  • Version 1
  • Effective From 10 Jun 2026

Notes

Applies only to conservation areas on volcanic origin islands with Krasnozem soils. Not applicable to calcareous or atoll-derived soils due to lack of data and suitable analogues. Represents a proxy benchmark with moderate confidence. No upper detrimental threshold — higher values are always better up to natural saturation.