Soil Inventory Database (AGRASID) and LSRS Ratings by Quarter Section

Overview

The Agricultural Regions of Alberta Soil Inventory Database (AGRASID) is a spatial database of soils for Alberta’s Agricultural area. This database is ideal for regional, and field scale, land use assessment and decision-making.

The AGRASID 4.1 database structure also incorporates:

• Land Suitability Rating System (LSRS) variables in publicly available AGRASID soil landscape polygons and quarter sections polygons.
• more information to describe Alberta landforms which are part of the AGRASID model
• the relationship between AGRASID soil landscapes and AGRASID land systems

For further information on the compiling of AGRASID please, view the CAESA Soil Inventory Project Procedures Manual. For land suitability rating please, the Land Suitability Rating System (LSRS) rating for Spring Seeded small grains (SSSG) technical bulletin.

Recent updates

There were 2 minor changes to the spatial data in AGRASID along the northern border of Alberta and British Colombia, and one along the central border of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Correction of some minor data attributions errors identified since the publishing AGRASID 3.0 have improved the overall quality of AGRASID. These corrections amount to a less than 5% change in attribute content within AGRASID.

Updates to the database structure and variable naming started in AGRASID 4.0 is likely the most noticeable change from AGRASID 3.0. Where possible, these structural changes adhere to the Canadian Soil Information System (CANSIS) National Soil Database (NSDB) standards for storing national ecological framework spatial and tabular datasets. Keeping variables in AGRASID 3.0 that have no equivalent in the current NSDB structure maintained continuity between continuity between the current and previous versions of AGRASID.

Land Suitability Rating System (LSRS) ratings by quarter sections are now available and bundled with the AGRASID Soil Landscapes spatial data in shapefile (SHP) and file geo-database (FGDB) format.

Metadata

The metadata for AGRASID 4.1 describes:

• what AGRASID Soil Landscapes and Land Systems are, and
• how dominant LSRS values for SSSG by quarter sections were derived from LSRS values by AGRASID Soil Landscapes
• how these spatial data sets can be accessed
• the use restrictions placed on them
• who AGRASID's custodians are
• how AGRASID is situated in geographic space
• what AGRASID contains
• how AGRASID is classified according to the International Standards Organization (ISO) 19115:2003 standards

Soil landscapes inventory

User’s manual

Initially the procedures manual was for the compilation teams conducting the Canada-Alberta Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture (CAESA) Soil Inventory Project. Then in 1998, the CAESA Soil Inventory Project Procedures Manual received an update and revision to accompany the digital soils information compiled during the CAESA project. The manual describes the procedures used and the attribute data captured during the project. It also provides users of the database some background information on the mapping systems used during the compilation of the soils database.

Download AGRASID for soil landscapes

The AGRASID 4.1 Soil Landscape download is property of the Government of Canada and the Alberta Government. It is available with unrestricted access. All AGRASID 4.1 components are contained in the following Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) spatial data formats:

• ESRI ArcGIS File geo-database (GDB)
• ESRI ArcGIS Shape file (SHP)

File geo-database (GDB) is the current standard spatial data format. ESRI ArcGIS Shape file (SHP) formats will continue to be available as an alternative for GIS software environments other than ESRI.

Download AGRASID 4.1 Soil Landscapes

Note: The AGRASID 4.1 Soil Landscapes data and Alberta Soil Information Viewer replaces AGRASID Version 1.0 (archived).

Land system inventory

User’s manual

The CAESA Land System User’s Manual accompanies the digital soils information compiled during the CAESA project. The manual describes the procedures used and the attribute data captured during the project. It also provides users of the database some background information on the mapping systems used during the compilation of the soils database.

Download AGRASID for land systems

The AGRASID 4.1 Land System download is property of the Government of Canada and the Alberta Government. It is available with unrestricted access. All AGRASID 4.1 components are contained in the following Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) spatial data formats:

• ESRI ArcGIS File geo-database (GDB)
• ESRI ArcGIS Shape file (SHP)

File geo-database (GDB) is the current standard spatial data format. ESRI ArcGIS Shape file (SHP) formats will continue to be available as an alternative for GIS software environments other than ESRI.

Download AGRASID 4.1 Land Systems

Dominant Land Suitability Rating by Quarter Section

Background

Decisions to inform siting of renewable energy projects will, in part, rely on a publicly accessible spatial layer that reports the most likely dominant land suitability rating (LSRS) by quarter section in the agricultural area of Alberta.

LSRS is a procedure for rating the suitability of land based on the soil-climate-landscape potential. Class 1 to 3 lands are considered the most productive, while quarter sections that are classed as dominantly LSRS Classes 4 to 7 are considered to have more limitations for agriculture production by comparison. LSRS values do not take into consideration site-specific management practices.

These values are intended to be used to inform siting and decision-making related to the suitability of land for development of renewable energy projects.

Source

Dominant LSRS ratings per quarter section originate from:

1. The verified ratings published by Agriculture and Agrifood Canada in December of 2011 for the agriculture regions of Alberta soil inventory database (AGRASID) and,
2. Altalis, ATS V4.1 POLYGONS publicly available data product. 

Derivation

Dominant LSRS class values are assigned to polygon fragments from the originating AGRASID polygons intersecting the quarter section in question. The LSRS values of each AGRASID polygon fragment intersecting an individual quarter section is area weighted according to the area fragments of AGRASID within the quarter section in relation to the original AGRASID polygon area. The lowest LSRS class within the quarter section with the highest summed area weighting by LSRS class becomes the dominant LSRS value for the quarter section.

Download Dominant LSRS Ratings by Quarter Section

The Dominant LSRS Ratings by quarter section download is bundled within the AGRASID for Soil Landscapes download and is property of the Government of Canada and the Alberta Government. It is available with unrestricted access. All Dominant LSRS Ratings by Quarter Section components are contained in the following Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) spatial data formats:

• ESRI ArcGIS File geo-database (FGDB)
• ESRI ArcGIS Shape file (SHP)

File geo-database (FGDB) is the current standard spatial data format. ESRI ArcGIS Shape file (SHP) formats will continue to be available as an alternative for GIS software environments other than ESRI.

Download Dominant LSRS Rating by Quarter Section

Note: When the AGRASID 4.1 Soil Landscape spatial data is download, the Dominant LSRS rating per quarter section is downloaded.

Contact 310-FARM

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Toll free: 310-FARM (3276) (in Alberta)
Phone: 403-742-7901 (outside Alberta)
Email: [email protected]

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