Soil Electrical Conductivity (EC)

AUS-TMS-FOR-SEC General Low confidence

Benchmark Value

0.005 dS/m

Direction: Lower 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 12 benchmarks together — the OptimalRange form drives the primary score, while 11 guard(s) constrain the result.

Contributing Benchmarks

OptimalRange Primary UpperThreshold Guard MaximumOnly Guard MinimumOnly Guard OptimalRange Guard MinimumOnly Guard MaximumOnly Guard MaximumOnly Guard OptimalRange Guard MinimumOnly Guard OptimalRange Guard MaximumOnly Guard

Evidence & Context

Conceptually, a lower critical threshold for EC1:5 might be considered as approaching 0.005 dS/m

Metric Definition:

Soil Electrical Conductivity (EC) quantifies the ability of the soil solution to conduct an electrical current, a property primarily influenced by the concentration of dissolved salts and mobile ions.

Benchmark Definition:

Lower critical threshold below which essential ecological functions are compromised.

Justification:

Values moving towards the EC of distilled water (approximately 0.001 dS/m) would indicate an extreme and likely detrimental depletion of all soluble ions.

Sources (1)

Preview of Soil Electrical Conductivity - Natural Resources Conservation Service, accessed May 16, 2025,

Soil Electrical Conductivity - Natural Resources Conservation Service, accessed May 16, 2025, Journal

USDA 12

Supporting Sources (26)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Preview of (PDF) Defining and Measuring the Health of Savanna Landscapes ..., accessed May 20, 2025,

(PDF) Defining and Measuring the Health of Savanna Landscapes ..., accessed May 20, 2025,

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Managing for biodiversity: impact and action thresholds for invasive plants

Preview of A Guide To Soil Electrical Conductivity (EC): Description, Importance & Soil EC Maps, accessed May 16, 2025,

A Guide To Soil Electrical Conductivity (EC): Description, Importance & Soil EC Maps, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Soil Electrical Conductivity(EC): What's It, Why Important, How to Measure & More - Latest News from Seeed Studio, accessed July 10, 2025

Preview of African Mahogany Under Saline Stress: An Analysis of the Transpiration Response at Different Salinity Levels - PMC, accessed May 16, 2025,

African Mahogany Under Saline Stress: An Analysis of the Transpiration Response at Different Salinity Levels - PMC, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

African Mahogany Under Saline Stress: An Analysis of the Transpiration Response at Different Salinity Levels - PMC, accessed May 16, 2025

Preview of African Mahogany Under Saline Stress: An Analysis of the Transpiration Response at Different Salinity Levels - Preprints.org, accessed May 16, 2025,

African Mahogany Under Saline Stress: An Analysis of the Transpiration Response at Different Salinity Levels - Preprints.org, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Physio-biochemical and morphological characters of halophyte legume shrub, Acacia ampliceps seedlings in response to salt stress under greenhouse - PMC, accessed May 16, 2025

Preview of Australia's State of the Forests Report - DAFF, accessed August 10, 2025,

Australia's State of the Forests Report - DAFF, accessed August 10, 2025,

Contextual Support

Baselines for Soil Health and Stability in NSW RFA Regions

Preview of Brigalow Tropical Savanna | EBSCO Research Starters, accessed May 16, 2025,

Brigalow Tropical Savanna | EBSCO Research Starters, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Brigalow Tropical Savanna | EBSCO Research Starters

Preview of Factors that affect soil electrical conductivity (EC) based system for smart farming application, accessed May 16, 2025,

Factors that affect soil electrical conductivity (EC) based system for smart farming application, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

How salinity is measured - NSW Department of Primary Industries, accessed July 30, 2025

Preview of Fire regime impacts on soil microbes, soil organic carbon and ground cover in an Australian tropical savanna - CSIRO Publishing, accessed May 16, 2025,

Fire regime impacts on soil microbes, soil organic carbon and ground cover in an Australian tropical savanna - CSIRO Publishing, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Plant community characteristics of the CSIRO Car- digan research site, Queensland, Australia. - ResearchGate

Preview of Impact of fire return interval on pyrogenic carbon stocks in a tropical savanna, North Queensland, Australia - CSIRO Publishing, accessed May 16, 2025,

Impact of fire return interval on pyrogenic carbon stocks in a tropical savanna, North Queensland, Australia - CSIRO Publishing, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Impact of fire return interval on pyrogenic carbon stocks in a tropical savanna, North Queensland, Australia - CSIRO Publishing

Preview of Measuring soil salinity | Agriculture and Food, accessed May 16, 2025,

Measuring soil salinity | Agriculture and Food, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Methodology Source Government

Barrett-Lennard, E. G., et al. (2005). Standardising terminology for describing the level of salinity in soils in Australia

Preview of New Insights on Plant Salt Tolerance Mechanisms and Their Potential Use for Breeding, accessed May 16, 2025,

New Insights on Plant Salt Tolerance Mechanisms and Their Potential Use for Breeding, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Irrelevant Journal

New Insights on Plant Salt Tolerance Mechanisms and Their Potential Use for Breeding

Preview of Physio-biochemical and morphological characters of halophyte legume shrub, Acacia ampliceps seedlings in response to salt stress under greenhouse - PMC, accessed May 16, 2025,

Physio-biochemical and morphological characters of halophyte legume shrub, Acacia ampliceps seedlings in response to salt stress under greenhouse - PMC, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Physio-biochemical and morphological characters of halophyte legume shrub, Acacia ampliceps seedlings in response to salt stress under greenhouse - PMC

Preview of Plantation tree growth responses to P, N, K and minor and trace elements on low fertility savanna soils - ResearchGate, accessed May 16, 2025,

Plantation tree growth responses to P, N, K and minor and trace elements on low fertility savanna soils - ResearchGate, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Agnote - Northern Territory Government

Preview of Salinity tolerance of hydroponically grown Pinus pinea L. seedlings - ResearchGate, accessed May 16, 2025,

Salinity tolerance of hydroponically grown Pinus pinea L. seedlings - ResearchGate, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Salinity tolerance of hydroponically grown Pinus pinea L. seedlings - ResearchGate

Preview of Soil organic carbon content at a range of north Australian tropical savannas with contrasting site histories - OPUS at UTS, accessed May 16, 2025,

Soil organic carbon content at a range of north Australian tropical savannas with contrasting site histories - OPUS at UTS, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

opus.lib.uts.edu.au

Preview of Soil Research - CSIRO PUBLISHING, accessed May 16, 2025,

Soil Research - CSIRO PUBLISHING, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Direct Evidence Journal

Litchfield Savanna BASE Contextual, Soil Physico-Chemical Data ..., accessed May 20, 2025,

Preview of Soil Salinity and pH Drive Soil Bacterial Community Composition and Diversity Along a Lateritic Slope in the Avon River Critical Zone Observatory, Western Australia - Frontiers, accessed May 16, 2025,

Soil Salinity and pH Drive Soil Bacterial Community Composition and Diversity Along a Lateritic Slope in the Avon River Critical Zone Observatory, Western Australia - Frontiers, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Soil Salinity and pH Drive Soil Bacterial Community Composition and Diversity Along a Lateritic Slope in the Avon River Critical Zone Observatory, Western Australia - Frontiers

Preview of Survey teams head north to sample key ecosystems | TERN Australia, accessed May 16, 2025,

Survey teams head north to sample key ecosystems | TERN Australia, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Government

Survey teams head north to sample key ecosystems | TERN Australia, accessed May 13, 2025,

Preview of TERN Australia SI rev2 ver3, accessed May 16, 2025,

TERN Australia SI rev2 ver3, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support

TERN Australia SI rev2 ver3

Preview of TERN Soil Data Federator - CSIRO Data Access Portal, accessed May 16, 2025,

TERN Soil Data Federator - CSIRO Data Access Portal, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Methodology Source Government

TERN Soil Data Federator - CSIRO Data Access Portal

Preview of Territory NRM - Sustainable Forestry Practices Guidelines for the NT, accessed May 16, 2025,

Territory NRM - Sustainable Forestry Practices Guidelines for the NT, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Government

Indicator 7.1a: Extent to which the legal framework supports the conservation and sustainable management of forests (2024), accessed May 17, 2025

Preview of Tool 6.7 Soil health benchmarks and guidelines for managing problem soils, accessed May 16, 2025,

Tool 6.7 Soil health benchmarks and guidelines for managing problem soils, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Tool 6.7 Soil health benchmarks and guidelines for managing problem soils

Preview of Tropical Forests and Grasslands (Savanna) - Soils 4 Teachers, accessed May 16, 2025,

Tropical Forests and Grasslands (Savanna) - Soils 4 Teachers, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Tropical Forests and Grasslands (Savanna) - Soils 4 Teachers

Preview of Untitled - UKnowledge, accessed May 14, 2025,

Untitled - UKnowledge, accessed May 14, 2025,

Contextual Support

Untitled - UKnowledge, accessed May 14, 2025

Preview of www.publications.qld.gov.au

www.publications.qld.gov.au

Contextual Support

www.publications.qld.gov.au

Preview of www.publications.qld.gov.au, accessed May 16, 2025,

www.publications.qld.gov.au, accessed May 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Journal

Measuring soil salinity - The Australian Wine Research Institute

Context

Region Australia
Biome Tropical Monsoonal Savannas
Land Use Production Forestry
Assessment Not Stated
Evidence Type DegradationThreshold

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 1
Effective From 31 May 2026

Notes

This value is an expert inference. AssessmentContext defaulted to 'Not Stated' because the source document did not state one.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-TMS-FOR-SEC family.