Soil Potassium

AUS-TSW-CON-SOK General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range
Range: 120 to 200 mg/kg
Thresholds: Lower: 50, Upper: 200
Optimal Range: 120 to 200
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.

Evidence & Context

A benchmark range of 120–200 mg/kg is proposed for sandy to loamy soils.

Metric Definition:

Available potassium (Colwell K or equivalent exchangeable K) in soil

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark represents the range of available potassium in sandy to loamy soils within a healthy, self-sustaining native ecosystem in temperate semi-arid shrublands and open woodlands, indicating a stable, non-depleted state suitable for conservation areas.

Justification:

This range represents a state of high ecological function, sufficient to support the diverse flora and resilience of the ecosystem, without being artificially inflated.

Sources (1)

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Understanding soil tests for pastures | Soil | Farm management ..., accessed May 12, 2025 Government

Understanding soil tests for pastures

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Supporting Sources (48)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

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(PDF) Mineral Nutrition of Plants in Australia's Arid Zone - ResearchGate, accessed July 13, 2025
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(PDF) Mineral Nutrition of Plants in Australia's Arid Zone - ResearchGate

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Contextual Support Direct Evidence Journal

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Australian ecoregions - ecoxplore, accessed July 13, 2025
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Bioturbation by bandicoots facilitates seedling growth by altering soil properties - Threatened Species Recovery Hub, accessed July 13, 2025
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Bioturbation by bandicoots facilitates seedling growth by altering soil properties - Threatened Species Recovery Hub, accessed July 13, 2025

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Brigalow within the Brigalow Belt South, Nandewar and Darling Riverine Plains bioregions - Identification guidelines for Endange, accessed July 13, 2025
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Brigalow within the Brigalow Belt South, Nandewar and Darling Riverine Plains bioregions - Identification guidelines for Endange, accessed July 13, 2025

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Cation Exchange Capacity - Local Land Services, accessed July 16, 2025,
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Coolgardie woodlands - Wikipedia, accessed July 13, 2025
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Coolgardie Woodlands | One Earth, accessed July 13, 2025
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Coolgardie Woodlands | One Earth, accessed July 13, 2025

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Crop and Pasture Science - CSIRO PUBLISHING, accessed July 10, 2025
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Long-term rundown of plant-available potassium in Western Australia requires a re-evaluation of potassium management for grain production: a review - CSIRO Publishing, accessed July 17, 2025,

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Ecoregions – Australian Acoustic Observatory | A2O, accessed July 13, 2025
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Ecoregions – Australian Acoustic Observatory | A2O, accessed July 13, 2025

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Eyre and Yorke Mallee | One Earth, accessed July 13, 2025
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Fire and Its Interactions With Other Drivers Shape a Distinctive, Semi-Arid 'Mallee' Ecosystem - Frontiers, accessed July 8, 2025
Contextual Support Journal

Fire and Its Interactions With Other Drivers Shape a Distinctive, Semi-Arid 'Mallee' Ecosystem - Frontiers, accessed August 28, 2025,

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Food safety and standard of Australian Native plants - ResearchGate, accessed July 13, 2025
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Food safety and standard of Australian Native plants - ResearchGate, accessed July 13, 2025

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Great Western Woodlands - Wikipedia, accessed July 10, 2025,
Contextual Support GreyLiterature

Great Western Woodlands - Wikipedia, accessed July 12, 2025,

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Hattah-Kulkyne National Park and Murray-Kulkyne Park - Visitor Guide - Parks Victoria, accessed July 13, 2025
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Hattah-Kulkyne National Park and Murray-Kulkyne Park - Visitor Guide - Parks Victoria, accessed July 13, 2025

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How to convert cmol/kg to mg/kg? - ResearchGate, accessed July 13, 2025

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I*. Overview of a 40-year study of the effects of land clearing in the brigalow bioregion of Australia - CSIRO PUBLISHING | Soil Research, accessed July 13, 2025
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I*. Overview of a 40-year study of the effects of land clearing in the brigalow bioregion of Australia - CSIRO PUBLISHING | Soil Research, accessed July 13, 2025

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Contextual Support Journal

Land systems, soils and vegetation of the southern Goldfields and Great Western Woodlands of Western Australia - Volume 1 - DBCA Library, accessed July 13, 2025

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Long-term rundown of plant-available potassium in Western Australia requires a re-evaluation of potassium management for grain production: a review - BioOne Complete, accessed July 10, 2025
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Long-term rundown of plant-available potassium in Western Australia requires a re-evaluation of potassium management for grain production: a review - CSIRO PUBLISHING | Crop and Pasture Science, accessed July 24, 2025

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Preview of Multiple adaptive responses of Australian native perennial legumes with pasture potential to grow in phosphorus- and moisture-limited environments, accessed August 11, 2025,
Multiple adaptive responses of Australian native perennial legumes with pasture potential to grow in phosphorus- and moisture-limited environments, accessed August 11, 2025,
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Multiple adaptive responses of Australian native perennial legumes with pasture potential to grow in phosphorus- and moisture-limited environments, accessed July 16, 2025,

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Oil mallee plantings and arthropod biodiversity in ... - Curtin University, accessed July 13, 2025

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Plant nutrients in the soil - NSW Department of Primary Industries, accessed July 18, 2025,
Contextual Support Government

Rangelands Living Skin | .Meat & Livestock Australia - MLA, accessed July 28, 2025,

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Potassium | Fact Sheets | soilquality.org.au, accessed August 11, 2025,
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Potassium Deficiency — Research - Department of Plant Science, accessed July 13, 2025
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Potassium Deficiency — Research - Department of Plant Science, accessed July 13, 2025

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Potassium: A Vital Regulator of Plant Responses and Tolerance to Abiotic Stresses - MDPI, accessed July 13, 2025
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Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia - CSIRO, accessed July 30, 2025,
Contextual Support

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Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia - esoil.io, accessed July 13, 2025
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Soil Fertility Trends. An Analysis of Soil Data from the Murray Mallee ..., accessed July 13, 2025
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Soil K rundown in the Western grains region – where, why and what does it mean for crop yields? - GRDC, accessed July 13, 2025
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Soil management - Landscape South Australia - Eyre Peninsula, accessed July 13, 2025
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Preview of Soil Research - CSIRO PUBLISHING
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V*. Clearing and burning brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) in Queensland, Australia, temporarily increases surface soil fertility prior to nutrient decline under cropping or grazing - CSIRO Publishing, accessed July 13, 2025

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Preview of Soil Science Spotlight - Organic Fertilizer Recommendations, accessed July 13, 2025
Soil Science Spotlight - Organic Fertilizer Recommendations, accessed July 13, 2025
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Soils and the Below-ground Interactions that Shape Australian vegetation - ResearchGate, accessed July 13, 2025
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Soils and the Below-ground Interactions that Shape Australian vegetation - ResearchGate, accessed July 13, 2025

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Preview of Subsoil testing required to detect the rundown of soil potassium to deficient levels for wheat production on loam-textured soils - ResearchGate, accessed July 13, 2025
Subsoil testing required to detect the rundown of soil potassium to deficient levels for wheat production on loam-textured soils - ResearchGate, accessed July 13, 2025
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Subsoil testing required to detect the rundown of soil potassium to deficient levels for wheat production on loam-textured soils - ResearchGate

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What are the optimum nutrient targets for pastures? - Soil Health Knowledgebase, accessed August 5, 2025,
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Context

  • Region Australia
  • Biome Temperate Semi-Arid Shrublands & Open Woodlands
  • Land Use Conservation / Protected Natural Areas
  • Assessment Pristine Reference
  • Vegetation Woodland
  • Evidence Type ReferenceCondition

Lifecycle

  • Status Active
  • Version 1
  • Effective From 15 Mar 2026

Notes

Inferred from agricultural 'ideal' ranges, representing a stable, non-depleted state suitable for high-health native ecosystems.