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.

This map displays the distribution of organic soils in the agricultural region of Alberta. Organic soils consist of layers of material with greater than 30 percent organic matter and a total thickness of greater than 40 cm. Organic soils are generally saturated with water for most of the year unless drained. Saturation inhibits decomposition and encourages continued accumulation of organic material. Drainage of these soils can result in a rapid increase in decomposition and a reduction in the thickness of the organic material. This resource was created in 2002 using ArcGIS.

The data represents the relative cultivation intensity in the agricultural area of Alberta. Cultivation intensity refers to the frequency of cultivation associated with the following management systems: no till, conventional tillage and summerfallow. It is an estimate of the degree to which cultivation contributes to wind and water erosion. The classes shown on the map are ranked between 0 (lowest) and 1 (highest).This map was created in 2002 using ArcGIS.

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

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.

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 .

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.

The Alberta Regeneration Information System (ARIS) requires a unique identifier assigned to a cutblock to enable tracking within ARIS. This number is generated from a point roughly derived from the centre of the cutblock. The number is a concatenation of the point's legal description plus a grid cell number. The format is MRRTTTSSGG where M - Meridian, RR - Range, TTT - Township, SS - Section, GG - grid cell. The MRRTTSS information is derived with reference to the Alberta Township System. The grid cell is derived from a 10 by 10 grid that is overlaid on the section that the centre of the cutblock is contained in. Grid cells are numbered between 00 - 99 with the grid origin at the bottom left corner of the section and anchored to the centre of grid cell 00. The first digit represents the grid column and the second digit is the grid row of the 10 by 10 matrix. Note that in some cases a letter may be appended to the end of the opening number where an opening number had to be split between two cutblocks for some reason. For example, cutblocks may have the same basic opening number but one is differentiated from the other with one having an A and the other having a B appended to the end of the base opening number.This dataset contains all the potential opening numbers in the Green Area of the province, either as a whole or by Forest Management Unit (FMU).

This dataset contains district boundaries representing geographic areas of operational responsibility within Parks Operations Division, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas. Parks Operations Division Districts nest within Parks Operations Division Management Areas, which are areas of managerial responsibility within Parks Operations Division. Management Areas in turn nest within Parks Operations Division Regions. These boundaries are administrative/operational in nature, and are subject to change.

This map, created in 2002 using ArcGIS, describes the number of animal and plant species that are at risk in Alberta. 'Species at risk' is a term used by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) that includes the following categories of plants and animals:Extirpated species - no longer in the wild in Canada.Endangered species - species facing imminent extirpation or extinction.Threatened species - likely to become an endangered species if nothing is done to reverse factors leading to its extirpation or extinction.Species of special concern - species that may become threatened or endangered due to biological characteristics or identified threats.