This map displays the risk of soil degradation by wind in the agricultural region of Alberta. Wind erosion is a concern because it reduces soil quality by removing soil nutrients, smaller soil particles and organic matter. Wind erosion can reduce air quality during extreme erosion events and also reduce water quality if eroded particles drift into streams and lakes. The map uses five classes to describe the wind erosion risk on bare, unprotected mineral soil: negligible, low, moderate, high and severe. This resource was created using ArcGIS. It was originally published as a print map in 1989.

This map displays an assessment of surface water quality risk for the agricultural area of Alberta. Agricultural activities that may have an impact on surface water quality, including livestock, crop production and agrochemical use, were identified and used to produce this map. The classes shown on the map were ranked from 0 (lowest risk) to 1 (highest risk).This resource was created in 2002 using ArcGIS.

This data was produced under contract for Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Forest Management Branch in 2015-2016. Variables used were elevation, aspect, slope, landscape mesotopography (e.g. ridge, upper slope, etc). Where there was LiDAR coverage, resolution was 1m2 pixels. Canopy height was included in this model as a product generated by LiDAR. In these files there is a report assessing accuracy of the models compared with field observation data. detailed accuracy data by township is available upon request.

This map displays the risk of soil degradation by water in the agricultural region of Alberta. Water erosion is a concern because it reduces soil quality by removing soil particles and nutrients, and reduces water quality if these particles are carried into nearby water bodies. The map uses five classes to describe the water erosion risk on bare, unprotected mineral soil: negligible, low, moderate, high and severe.This resource was created using ArcGIS, originally published as a print map in 1993 .

Oil Sands Agreement feature class contains provincial extent polygon features representing Oil Sands applications, agreements, leases, and licences, with varying term dates and conditions. These applications and subsequent agreements give the holder the right to explore Oil Sands.

This map displays the percentage of organic matter in the surface layer of cultivated soils in the agricultural region of Alberta. Soil organic matter (SOM) is derived primarily from the decomposition of plant biomass. SOM improves both the physical and chemical properties of soil and has beneficial effects on agricultural soil quality. SOM is reported on the map as a percentage using the following classes: less than 2 (very low), 2 to 4 (low), 4 to 6 (medium), 6 to 8 (high) and greater than 8 (very high).This resource was created in 2002 using ArcGIS.

The data represents the occurrence of saline soils in the agricultural area of Alberta. A Saline Soils is a non-alkali (pH less than 8.5 and exchangeable-sodium less than 15%) soil containing soluble salts in great enough quantities that they interfere with the growth of most crop plants. This resource was created in 2002 using ArcGIS.

The Primary Land and Vegetation Inventory (PLVI) is a photo-based digital inventory developed to identify the type, extent and conditions of vegetation in the forested and parkland areas of the province of Alberta. This includes portions of both the Green and White areas of the province. It will include areas of the province extending north from the extent of the Grassland Vegetation Inventory (GVI) and will include areas where the detail and expense of Alberta Vegetation Inventory (AVI) are not warranted, or time and resources are limiting constraints. Ecological site phase (ecosite phase) is the main level of classification used in PLVI. A polygon may be attributed with up to 3 ecological site phases, depending on complexity and extent. PLVI captures range site attributes only within the Central Parkland Natural Subregion. The most up to date ecological site phases can be found in the Plant Community Guides. Guides are broken into individual Natural Subregions. See the Cross Reference Section for additional information. This dataset is produced for the Government of Alberta and is available to the general public. Please consult the Distribution Information of this metadata for the appropriate contact to acquire this dataset.

Petroleum and Natural Gas Agreement feature class contains provincial extent polygon features representing Petroleum and Natural Gas applications, agreements, leases, and licences, with varying term dates and conditions. These applications and subsequent agreements give the holder the right to explore Petroleum and Natural Gas.

This map displays the distribution of Solonetzic soils in the agricultural region of Alberta. Solonetzic soils have developed on saline parent material that is high in sodium and have a characteristic hardpan layer that has formed in the subsoil. This hardpan is very hard when dry and has low permeability when wet. This results in restricted root and water penetration that may limit the productivity of these soils. Solonetzic soils occur in association with Chernozemic soils and, to a lesser extent, with Luvisolic soils.The Agricultural Region of Alberta Soil Inventory Database (AGRASID) soil landscape polygons that contained soils belonging to the Solonetzic Order were identified, and the areal extent of these soils was represented as a percentage of the total area using the following classes: greater than 30, 10 to 30 and less than 10. This resource was created in 2002 using ArcGIS.