Soil Water Infiltration Rate

AUS-AMR-AGR-SWI General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range

Range: 20 to 35 mm/hr

Optimal Range: 20 to 35

Direction: Higher is desirable ↑

Form: OptimalRange

This curve shows how a field measurement for this indicator would score across all available benchmark forms in this context.

Sands / Loamy Sands have an optimal functional range of 20−35 mm/hr.

Metric Definition:

Optimal functional range of soil water infiltration rate for sands and loamy sands.

Benchmark Definition:

Optimal functional range for soil water infiltration rate in sands and loamy sands of the Australian Arid Mountain Ranges & Uplands biome.

Justification:

High risk of detrimental effects at rates above this range due to rapid leaching and inefficient water use.

Water ponding for pastoral production in central Australia Journal

Classifying Soil by Infiltration Rate - Number Analytics, accessed July 7, 2025

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Report on the Condition of Agricultural Land in South Australia - Department for Environment and Water

Direct Evidence Journal

Rainfall infiltration and runoff from an Alfisol in semi-arid tropical India. I. No-till systems1

Excessively high infiltration (>35-40 mm/hr) leads to inefficiency and nutrient loss.

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