Soil Organic Carbon (SOC)

AUS-TGP-LVG-SOC General High confidence

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range
Range: 2 to 4 %
Optimal Range: 2 to 4
Direction: Higher is desirable ↑
Form: OptimalRange

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 13 benchmarks together — the OptimalRange form drives the primary score, while 12 guard(s) constrain the result.

Evidence & Context

Synthesizing these points, the optimal range for SOC in temperate grazing systems can be defined as 2.0% to approximately 4.0%.

Metric Definition:

Optimal range of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) percentage for sustained ecological health and productivity in temperate pastures.

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark defines the optimal Soil Organic Carbon range that supports good soil structure, fertility, and water-holding capacity in temperate grazing systems.

Justification:

Based on multiple lines of evidence including Victorian SFS guide, NSW benchmarks, and South Australian dataset percentiles.

Sources (1)

Preview of Soil Organic Carbon Benchmarks by Rainfall and Texture
Soil Organic Carbon Benchmarks by Rainfall and Texture Journal

Soil Organic Carbon Guidelines by Rainfall - Department for Environment and Water, accessed March 28, 2026,

View Source

Supporting Sources (46)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Preview of (PDF) Temperate Regenerative Agriculture practices increase soil carbon but not crop yield – a meta-analysis - ResearchGate, accessed August 5, 2025,
(PDF) Temperate Regenerative Agriculture practices increase soil carbon but not crop yield – a meta-analysis - ResearchGate, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

(PDF) Temperate Regenerative Agriculture practices increase soil carbon but not crop yield – a meta-analysis - ResearchGate, accessed August 5, 2025,

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Australia's forests – overview - DAFF, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support

Boland, D. J., & Dunn, A. T. (1985). Eucalyptus delegatensis: Its ecology and management. Forestry Commission of NSW.

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Preview of Australian dryland soils are acidic and nutrient-depleted, and have unique microbial communities compared with other drylands - PMC, accessed August 5, 2025,
Australian dryland soils are acidic and nutrient-depleted, and have unique microbial communities compared with other drylands - PMC, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Direct Evidence Journal

Root Structure and Functioning for Efficient Acquisition of Phosphorus: Matching Morphological and Physiological Traits

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Preview of Baseline map of organic carbon in Australian soil to support national carbon accounting and monitoring under climate change - PubMed Central, accessed August 5, 2025,
Baseline map of organic carbon in Australian soil to support national carbon accounting and monitoring under climate change - PubMed Central, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Direct Evidence Journal

Baseline map of organic carbon in Australian soil to support national carbon accounting and monitoring under climate change - PMC, accessed March 28, 2026,

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Preview of Critical review of the impacts of grazing intensity on soil organic carbon storage and other soil quality indicators in extensiv - Murdoch Research Portal, accessed August 5, 2025,
Critical review of the impacts of grazing intensity on soil organic carbon storage and other soil quality indicators in extensiv - Murdoch Research Portal, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Critical review of the impacts of grazing intensity on soil organic carbon storage and other soil quality indicators in extensiv - Murdoch Research Portal, accessed August 5, 2025,

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Preview of Degradation: Soil, Organic Carbon Content, Overuse & Climate are Interconnected, accessed August 5, 2025,
Degradation: Soil, Organic Carbon Content, Overuse & Climate are Interconnected, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Degradation: Soil, Organic Carbon Content, Overuse & Climate are Interconnected, accessed August 5, 2025,

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Preview of Disturbance and management effects on forest soil organic carbon stocks in the Pacific Northwest, accessed August 5, 2025,
Disturbance and management effects on forest soil organic carbon stocks in the Pacific Northwest, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support

Disturbance and management effects on forest soil organic carbon stocks in the Pacific Northwest, accessed August 5, 2025,

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Preview of Do regenerative grazing management practices improve vegetation and soil health in grazed rangelands? Preliminary insights from a space-for-time study in the Great Barrier Reef catchments, Australia - CSIRO Publishing, accessed August 5, 2025,
Do regenerative grazing management practices improve vegetation and soil health in grazed rangelands? Preliminary insights from a space-for-time study in the Great Barrier Reef catchments, Australia - CSIRO Publishing, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support

Ludwig, J.A., Bastin, G.N., Chewings, V.H., Eager, R.W., and Liedloff, A.C. (2005). Clearing savannas for use as rangelands in Queensland: Altered landscapes and water-erosion processes. Rangeland Journal, 27(2), 135-149.

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Preview of Effects of grazing exclusion on soil organic carbon: Hillslope and soil profile results (an Australian example) - PubMed, accessed August 5, 2025,
Effects of grazing exclusion on soil organic carbon: Hillslope and soil profile results (an Australian example) - PubMed, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support

Effects of grazing exclusion on soil organic carbon: Hillslope and soil profile results (an Australian example) - PubMed, accessed August 5, 2025,

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Preview of Grazing Affects Soil Organic Carbon Stocks Directly and Indirectly Through Herbaceous Species Diversity in Sahelian Savanna Ecosystems - Agritrop, accessed August 5, 2025,
Grazing Affects Soil Organic Carbon Stocks Directly and Indirectly Through Herbaceous Species Diversity in Sahelian Savanna Ecosystems - Agritrop, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Grazing Affects Soil Organic Carbon Stocks Directly and Indirectly Through Herbaceous Species Diversity in Sahelian Savanna Ecosystems - Agritrop, accessed on June 5, 2025

View Source
Preview of Grazing management for soil carbon in Australia: A review - PubMed, accessed August 5, 2025,
Grazing management for soil carbon in Australia: A review - PubMed, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Grazing management for soil carbon in Australia: A review - PubMed, accessed July 28, 2025,

View Source
Preview of Grazing management for soil carbon in Australia: A review - ResearchGate, accessed August 5, 2025,
Grazing management for soil carbon in Australia: A review - ResearchGate, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Managing grazing to increase ground cover in rangelands: using remote sensing to detect change | Request PDF - ResearchGate

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Preview of Grazing management for soil carbon in Australia: A review, accessed August 5, 2025,
Grazing management for soil carbon in Australia: A review, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Grazing management for soil carbon in Australia: A review

View Source
Preview of How does the loss of soil organic carbon exacerbate climate change? - Quora, accessed August 5, 2025,
How does the loss of soil organic carbon exacerbate climate change? - Quora, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Irrelevant

How does the loss of soil organic carbon exacerbate climate change? - Quora, accessed August 5, 2025,

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Preview of How should we manage our soils to increase soil carbon? - Soil Health Knowledgebase, accessed August 5, 2025,
How should we manage our soils to increase soil carbon? - Soil Health Knowledgebase, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Government

How should we manage our soils to increase soil carbon? - Soil Health Knowledgebase, accessed August 5, 2025,

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Preview of HOW TO MEASURE AND INTERPRET RESULTS IN RELATION TO SOIL ORGANIC CARBON - Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), accessed August 5, 2025,
HOW TO MEASURE AND INTERPRET RESULTS IN RELATION TO SOIL ORGANIC CARBON - Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Methodology Source GreyLiterature

HOW TO MEASURE AND INTERPRET RESULTS IN RELATION TO SOIL ORGANIC CARBON - Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC)

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Preview of Impacts of Rotational Grazing on Soil Carbon in Native Grass-Based ..., accessed August 5, 2025,
Impacts of Rotational Grazing on Soil Carbon in Native Grass-Based ..., accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Direct Evidence Journal

Impacts of Rotational Grazing on Soil Carbon in Native Grass-Based Pastures in Southern Australia | PLOS One - Research journals

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Preview of Impacts of Rotational Grazing on Soil Carbon in Native Grass-Based Pastures in Southern Australia - PubMed Central, accessed August 5, 2025,
Impacts of Rotational Grazing on Soil Carbon in Native Grass-Based Pastures in Southern Australia - PubMed Central, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Direct Evidence Journal

Impacts of Rotational Grazing on Soil Carbon in Native Grass-Based Pastures in Southern Australia - PubMed Central, accessed August 5, 2025,

View Source
Preview of Impacts of Rotational Grazing on Soil Carbon in Native Grass-Based Pastures in Southern Australia - PubMed, accessed August 5, 2025,
Impacts of Rotational Grazing on Soil Carbon in Native Grass-Based Pastures in Southern Australia - PubMed, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Impacts of Rotational Grazing on Soil Carbon in Native Grass-Based Pastures in Southern Australia - PubMed, accessed August 5, 2025,

View Source
Preview of Impacts of Rotational Grazing on Soil Carbon in Native Grass-Based Pastures in Southern Australia - ResearchGate, accessed August 5, 2025,
Impacts of Rotational Grazing on Soil Carbon in Native Grass-Based Pastures in Southern Australia - ResearchGate, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Direct Evidence Journal

Grazing management for soil carbon in Australia: A review - ResearchGate

View Source
Preview of Land-use and historical management effects on soil organic carbon in grazing systems on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales - CSIRO Publishing, accessed August 5, 2025,
Land-use and historical management effects on soil organic carbon in grazing systems on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales - CSIRO Publishing, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support

Land-use and historical management effects on soil organic carbon in grazing systems on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales - CSIRO Publishing, accessed August 5, 2025,

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Preview of Land-use and historical management effects on soil organic carbon in grazing systems on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales - ResearchGate, accessed August 5, 2025,
Land-use and historical management effects on soil organic carbon in grazing systems on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales - ResearchGate, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Land-use and historical management effects on soil organic carbon in grazing systems on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales - ResearchGate, accessed August 5, 2025,

View Source
Preview of Lucerne pastures and rotational grazing lift soil carbon levels | .Meat & Livestock Australia, accessed August 5, 2025,
Lucerne pastures and rotational grazing lift soil carbon levels | .Meat & Livestock Australia, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Lucerne pastures and rotational grazing lift soil carbon levels | .Meat & Livestock Australia, accessed August 5, 2025,

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Preview of Mapping soil organic carbon fractions for Australia, their stocks, and uncertainty - BG, accessed August 5, 2025,
Mapping soil organic carbon fractions for Australia, their stocks, and uncertainty - BG, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Direct Evidence Journal

Mapping soil organic carbon fractions for Australia, their stocks ... - BG

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Preview of Potential responses of soil organic carbon to global environmental change - PNAS, accessed August 5, 2025,
Potential responses of soil organic carbon to global environmental change - PNAS, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Potential responses of soil organic carbon to global environmental change - PNAS, accessed August 5, 2025,

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Preview of Regenerative Agriculture—A Literature Review on the Practices and Mechanisms Used to Improve Soil Health - MDPI, accessed August 5, 2025,
Regenerative Agriculture—A Literature Review on the Practices and Mechanisms Used to Improve Soil Health - MDPI, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Regenerative Agriculture—A Literature Review on the Practices and Mechanisms Used to Improve Soil Health - MDPI, accessed August 28, 2025,

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Preview of Regenerative Grazing: A Compelling Climate Strategy, accessed August 5, 2025,
Regenerative Grazing: A Compelling Climate Strategy, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Regenerative Grazing: A Compelling Climate Strategy, accessed August 5, 2025,

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Preview of Soil carbon - Department for Environment and Water, accessed August 5, 2025,
Soil carbon - Department for Environment and Water, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Soil carbon - Department for Environment and Water, accessed August 13, 2025,

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Preview of Soil carbon and inferred net primary production in high- and low-intensity grazing systems on the New England Tableland, eastern Australia - CSIRO Publishing, accessed August 5, 2025,
Soil carbon and inferred net primary production in high- and low-intensity grazing systems on the New England Tableland, eastern Australia - CSIRO Publishing, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support

Soil carbon and inferred net primary production in high- and low-intensity grazing systems on the New England Tableland, eastern Australia - CSIRO Publishing, accessed August 5, 2025,

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Preview of Soil carbon and inferred net primary production in high- and low-intensity grazing systems on the New England Tableland, eastern Australia - ResearchGate, accessed August 5, 2025,
Soil carbon and inferred net primary production in high- and low-intensity grazing systems on the New England Tableland, eastern Australia - ResearchGate, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Soil organic matter in temperate forest-grassland systems: A case study from the Southern Cis-Ural, Russia - E3S Web of Conferences, accessed August 28, 2025,

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Preview of Soil carbon monitoring and trends - Department for Environment and Water, accessed August 5, 2025,
Soil carbon monitoring and trends - Department for Environment and Water, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Direct Evidence Government

Common soil types | Environment, land and water - Queensland Government

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Preview of Soil Carbon Sequestration in Northern Grazing Lands - FutureBeef, accessed August 5, 2025,
Soil Carbon Sequestration in Northern Grazing Lands - FutureBeef, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Soil Carbon Sequestration in Northern Grazing Lands - FutureBeef

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Preview of Soil carbon sequestration in rangelands a critical review of the impacts of major management strategies - CSIRO Publishing, accessed August 5, 2025,
Soil carbon sequestration in rangelands a critical review of the impacts of major management strategies - CSIRO Publishing, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Irrelevant

Soil carbon sequestration in rangelands a critical review of the impacts of major management strategies - CSIRO Publishing, accessed May 13, 2025,

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Preview of Soil carbon sequestration in rangelands: a critical review of the impacts of major management strategies - CSIRO Publishing, accessed August 5, 2025,
Soil carbon sequestration in rangelands: a critical review of the impacts of major management strategies - CSIRO Publishing, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Irrelevant

Critical review of the impacts of grazing intensity on soil organic carbon storage and other soil quality indicators in extensively managed grasslands - PubMed Central, accessed July 28, 2025,

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Preview of Soil carbon sequestration in rangelands: A critical review of the impacts of major management strategies - ResearchGate, accessed August 5, 2025,
Soil carbon sequestration in rangelands: A critical review of the impacts of major management strategies - ResearchGate, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

final repport - Department of Primary Industries, Queensland, accessed July 17, 2025,

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Preview of Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential: A review for Australian agriculture - MLA, accessed August 5, 2025,
Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential: A review for Australian agriculture - MLA, accessed August 5, 2025,
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Preview of Soil Carbon Snapshot - Agriculture Victoria, accessed August 5, 2025,
Soil Carbon Snapshot - Agriculture Victoria, accessed August 5, 2025,
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Baseline map of organic carbon in Australian soil to support national carbon accounting and monitoring under climate change - PubMed Central, accessed July 28, 2025,

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Preview of Soil Organic Carbon - Southern Farming Systems, accessed August 5, 2025,
Soil Organic Carbon - Southern Farming Systems, accessed August 5, 2025,
Direct Evidence Journal

Addressing the effects of soil organic carbon on water retention in US Pacific Northwest wheat–soil systems - Frontiers, accessed July 28, 2025,

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Preview of Soil Organic Carbon as Response to Reforestation Age and Land Use Changes: A Qualitative Approach to Ecosystem Services - MDPI, accessed August 5, 2025,
Soil Organic Carbon as Response to Reforestation Age and Land Use Changes: A Qualitative Approach to Ecosystem Services - MDPI, accessed August 5, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Effects of timber harvest on carbon pools in Ozark forests - Canadian Science Publishing, accessed August 28, 2025,

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Preview of Soil organic matter and carbon sequestration in pastures - FutureBeef, accessed August 5, 2025,
Soil organic matter and carbon sequestration in pastures - FutureBeef, accessed August 5, 2025,
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A farmer's guide to increasing Soil Organic Carbon under pastures - NSW Department of Primary Industries

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Soils ain't soils - carbon farming offers fertile future - CSIRO, accessed August 5, 2025,
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TEN WAYS - to build soil carbon - Local Land Services, accessed August 5, 2025,
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TEN WAYS - to build soil carbon - Local Land Services, accessed August 5, 2025,

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Preview of The value of soil organic matter and how we can slow its decline under cropping systems: Data from 500 paired-site comparisons - Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), accessed August 5, 2025,
The value of soil organic matter and how we can slow its decline under cropping systems: Data from 500 paired-site comparisons - Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), accessed August 5, 2025,
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Understanding and quantifying whole soil-profile organic carbon transfer using an environmental tracer - CSIRO Publishing, accessed August 5, 2025,
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Context

  • Region Australia
  • Biome Temperate Grassy Woodlands & Plains
  • Land Use Livestock Grazing & Pasture
  • Assessment Pristine Reference
  • Evidence Type HealthyOperationalRange

Lifecycle

  • Status Superseded
  • Version 1
  • Effective From 15 Mar 2026
  • Effective To 20 Mar 2026

Notes

Represents a healthy, productive, and resilient soil state. No upper detrimental threshold — higher values are always better up to natural saturation.