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Land System Database User’s Manual – Appendices

Details of the database structure, variable definitions and variable domain content that characterize each land system polygon.

Appendix 1

AGRASID41 soil landscape polygons classified by Land Systems GIS coverage

AGRASID land systems classification are associated with AGRASID soil landscape polygons by joining to the table that describes the many to one relationship between an AGRASID soil landscape polygons and a corresponding AGRASID land system using the primary / foreign key called POLY_ID.

Table 1. AGRASID_SoilLandscapes, relevant portions of the table structure

Field Name Type Width Allowable values Explanation of Field Name
OBJECT ID Objectid Numeric   Internal identifier
SHAPE Geometry Na   Geographic shape object
POLY_ID Numeric Long   Soil polygon number, assigned by a soil analyst (PK)

The AGRASID soil landscapes to AGRASID land system; relationship table (ag41sl2ag41lslg) describes the relationship between one or more soil landscapes and a land system.

AGRASID_41_SoilLandscape polygons link to ag41sl2ag41lslg attribute table through the POLY_ID primary \ foreign key field.

Table 2. The structure of the ag41sl2ag41lslg attribute table

Field Name Type Width Explanation of Field Name
OBJECT ID Objectid Numeric Internal identifier
POLY_ID Numeric Long Soil polygon number, assigned by soil analyst. (FK)
MUNAME TEXT 18 Generated soil symbol based upon the soil data collected and documented by the soil mapper. For explanation of the concepts and symbol refer to Section 2.0 of the CAESA-SIP Manual.
ECODIST Text 6 This variable is a unique identifier for each eco-district area within the national ecological stratification of Canada. The code concatenates ECO_REG&”.”&ECO_DIST ECODIST describe ecological areas on municipal district and county scale.
ECO_REG Text 2 Ecoregion code (Table 2.1 in the CAESA-SIP Manual).
ECO_DIST Text 3 Ecodistrict code (Table 4.1 in the CAESA-SIP Manual).
LSYS_NO Text 2 Land system number. Unique number identifying each separate land system within an Ecodistrict.
LS_COMP Text 2 A code to differentiate between two or more parts of a land system that are not physically adjacent to each other and share the same land system characteristics.
LS_SYM Text 10 Land System Symbol is a unique identifier for each land system. This symbol concatenates ECO_REG&”.”&ECO_DIST&”.”&LSYS_NO. LS_SYM.
LSLGDSYM Text 10 Land System legend symbol uniquely identifies each part of a multiple part land system. This is the field for dissolving AGRASID_SoilLandscapes polygons into AGRASID_LandSystems polygons.
NAME Text 23 Land System name, which associates a prominent locality name with the land system’s predominant landform expression.
MORPHOL Text 11 Morphological descriptor (Table 4.2 in the CAESA-SIP Manual).
SCA Numeric Double Soil correlation area number – organizational unit for Alberta Soil Names.
SOIL_ZONE Text 14 Soil Zones based on Soil Correlation Areas of Alberta (SCAs) and the crosswalk table in Appendix 3, Table 2 of this document.
AG_CLIMATE Text 12 Agricultural climate rating from the Ecodistricts legend and as defined by the Land Suitability Rating System for Agricultural Crops(Table 4.1, CAESA-SIP Manual) and as defined by Chapter 3 of the Land Suitability Rating System for Agricultural Crops:1. Spring-seeded small grains (Agronomic Interpretations Working Group 1995).
ORD1 Text 6 Soil order of 1st representative soil Land System Manual, Table 3, Appendix 3 of this document.
ORD2 Text 6 Soil order of 2nd representative soil. Land System Manual, Table 3, Appendix 3 of this document.
MAJOR1 Text 8 1st major representative soil (greater than 20% of land system) see “NEW SYMBOL” values in Alberta Soil Names File and SOIL_ID values in AGRASID “SoilNames” table for context.
MAJOR2 Text 8 2nd major representative soil (greater than 20% of land system) see “NEW SYMBOL” values in Alberta Soil Names File and SOIL_ID values in AGRASID “SoilNames” table for context.
MAJOR3 Text 8 3rd major representative soil (greater than 20% of land system) see “NEW SYMBOL” values in Alberta Soil Names File and SOIL_ID values in AGRASID “SoilNames” table for context.
MINOR1 Text 8 1st minor representative soil (between 5 and 20% of land system) see “NEW SYMBOL” values in Alberta Soil Names File and SOIL_ID values in AGRASID “SoilNames” table for context.
MINOR2 Text 8 2nd minor representative soil (between 5 and 20% of land system) see “NEW SYMBOL” values in Alberta Soil Names File and SOIL_ID values in AGRASID “SoilNames” table for context.
SURFORM1 Text 11 1st representative landscape model (surface form and relief) Land System Manual, Table 1, Appendix 3 of this document.
SURFORM2 Text 11 2nd representative landscape model (surface form and relief) Land System Manual, Table 3, Appendix 3 of this document.
SURFORM3 Text 11 3rd representative landscape model (surface form and relief) Land System Manual, Table 3, Appendix 3 of this document.
ORD2 Text 6 Soil order of 2nd representative soil. Land System Manual, Table 3, Appendix 3 of this document.

Appendix 2

AGRASID41 LandSystem polygons

This is information about AGRASID land system spatial data and the associated legend table.

The AGRASID41 land system polygons and legend table (AGRASID41_LandSystemLegend) table contain data that describe land system features.

Previous versions of AGRASID did not contain a distinct land system spatial data set. Rather AGRASID soil landscapes each belonged to a land system. Users of AGRASID looking for a spatial representation of land systems generated there own land system spatial data by DISSOLVING AGRASID soil landscapes themselves based on the “LSLGDSYM” field. Appendix 1, table 2 of this document, contains the structure AGRASID soil landscapes to land system legend relationship table (ag41sl2ag41lslg).

Table 3. The structure of the AGRASID41_LandSystems spatial data

Field Name Type Width Explanation of Field Name
OBJECT ID Objectid Numeric Internal identifier
LSLGDSYM Text 10 Land System legend symbol uniquely identifies each part of a multiple part land system. This is the primary and foreign key permanently joins AGRASID_LandSystems polygons to AGRASID_LandSystemLegend attributes table (PK).

Table 4. The structure of the AGRASID41_LandSystemLegend attribute data

Field Name Type Width Explanation of Field Name
OBJECT ID Objectid Numeric Internal identifier
LSLGDSYM Text 10 Land System legend symbol uniquely identifies each part of a multiple part land system. This is the primary and foreign key permanently joins AGRASID_LandSystems polygons to AGRASID_LandSystemLegend attributes table (FK).
NAME Character 35 A unique geographic name given to each land system.
MORPHOL Character 20 Morphological descriptor (Table 4.2 in the CAESA-SIP Manual).
SCA Numeric 2 Soil correlation area number – organizational unit for Alberta Soil Names.
SOIL_ZONE Character 25 Soil Zones based on Soil Correlation Areas of Alberta (SCAs) and the crosswalk table in Appendix 3, Table 2 of this document.
AG_CLIMATE Character 5 Agricultural climate rating from the Ecodistricts legend and as defined by the Land Suitability Rating System for Agricultural Crops(Table 4.1, CAESA-SIP Manual) and as defined by Chapter 3 of the Land Suitability Rating System for Agricultural Crops:1. Spring-seeded small grains (Agronomic Interpretations Working Group 1995).
ORD1 Character 2 Soil order of 1st representative soil Land System Manual, Table 3, Appendix 3 of this document.
ORD2 Character 2 Soil order of 2nd representative soil Land System Manual, Table 3, Appendix 3 of this document.
MAJOR1 Character 6 1st major representative soil (greater than 20% of land system) see “NEW SYMBOL” values in Alberta Soil Names File and SOIL_ID values in AGRASID “SoilNames” table for context.
MAJOR2 Character 6 2nd major representative soil (greater than 20% of land system) see “NEW SYMBOL” values in Alberta Soil Names File and SOIL_ID values in AGRASID “SoilNames” table for context.
MAJOR3 Character 6 3rd major representative soil (greater than 20% of land system) see “NEW SYMBOL” values in Alberta Soil Names File and SOIL_ID values in AGRASID “SoilNames” table for context.
MINOR1 Character 6 1st minor representative soil (between 5 and 20% of land system) see “NEW SYMBOL” values in Alberta Soil Names File and SOIL_ID values in AGRASID “SoilNames” table for context.
MINOR2 Character 6 2nd minor representative soil (between 5 and 20% of land system) see “NEW SYMBOL” values in Alberta Soil Names File and SOIL_ID values in AGRASID “SoilNames” table for context.
SURFORM1 Character 5 1st representative landscape model (surface form and relief) Land System Manual, Table 1, Appendix 3 of this document.
SURFORM2 Character 5 2nd representative landscape model (surface form and relief) Land System Manual, Table 1, Appendix 3 of this document.
SURFORM3 Character 5 3rd representative landscape model (surface form and relief) Land System Manual, Table 1, Appendix 3 of this document.

Table 5. The structure of the AGRASID41_LandSystemGeneral tabular data

Field Name Type Width Explanation of Field Name
OBJECT ID Objectid Numeric Internal identifier
ECOREGION Numeric   Eco Region Number
ECOREGION_NAME Text 50 Eco Region Name
LSLGDSYM Text 10 Land System legend symbol uniquely identifies each part of a multiple part land system. This is the primary and foreign key permanently joins AGRASID_LandSystems polygons to AGRASID_LandSystemLegend attributes table (FK).
GENERALDESCRIPTION Text 1000 Land System General text Description.
REPRESENTATIVESOILSANDLANDSCAPES Text 1000 A text description of Representative Soils and Landscapes contained within a Land System.

Appendix 3

Domain Tables describing coded data content in Appendices 1 and 2

Table 6. Landscape descriptions for Land System Legend generalized from AGRASID surface form codes

Landscape description for Land System Legend Surface Form Code for Soil Landscapes (Table 4.4 and 4.11, CAESA-SIP Procedures Manual)
Disturbed land DL, RR
Duned D1h, D1m, D1l, D2h, D2m, D2l
Floodplain FP1, FP2, FP3
Hummocky H1h, H1m, H1l, H2h, H2m, H2l, H3h,H3m,H3l,H4h,H4m,H4l
Hummocky (bedrock controlled) H5
Hummocky and plateau HP1
Hummocky and ridged HR1,HR2, HR2h
Inclined I3h,I3m, I3l
Inclined >10% exposed bedrock I4h, I4m, I4l
Inclined bedrock I1l
Level L1, L2, L3
Linear arranged water bodies (coolies) W1
Numerous water bodies W2, W3
Peatlands O1, O2, O3, O4, O5
Ridged R1h, R1m, R1l, R3h, R3m, R3l
Ridged (bedrock controlled) R2h, R2m, R2l
Rolling M1h, M1m
Sub-glacial channel features SC4
Undulating U1h, U1l
Undulating and inclined IUh, IUl
V-shaped valley SC3
Valley bottom SC2
Valley with confined floodplain SC1, SC1h

Table 7. Soil Zones based on Soil Correlation Area (SCA) descriptions

SCA Code Soil Zone Description
1 Brown
2 Dark brown
3 Dark brown
4 Dark brown
5 Thin black
6 Thin black
7 Thin black
8 Black
9 Black
10 Black-dark gray
12 Black-dark gray
13 Gray
16 Gray
17 Gray
18 Dark gray-black
20 Gray
21 Gray
22 Gray-dark gray

Table 8. Soil order code adapted from (Correlation Table ORDER located in appendix B: Code Descriptions for Alberta Soil Names File (Generation 4) , page 149

Soil Order Code Soil Order Description
BR Brunisols
CH Chernozems
GL Gleysols
LU Luvisols
OR Organic
RG Regosols
SZ Solonetz
VE Vertisols

Table 9. Parent material texture

AGRASID SoilNames Parent Material Code (Table 4.7, CAESA-SIP Procedures Manual) Parent Material Texture Description
C0 coarse textured material
C1 gravelly coarse textured material
C2 coarse textured sediments
C3 coarse textured sediments
C4 coarse textured till
C5 coarse textured till
C6 coarse textured softrock
C7 coarse grained bedrock
F0 fine textured material
F1 fine textured water-laid sediments
F2 very fine textured water-laid sediments
F3 fine textured water-laid sediments
F4 fine textured till
F5 fine textured softrock
F6 fine grained bedrock
L1 gravels over medium textured till
L2 coarse textured material over medium textured till
L3 medium textured material over medium textured till
L4 coarse over gravelly material
L5 medium textured over gravelly material
L6 till over softrock
L7 coarse textured material over softrock
L8 medium textured material over softrock
L9 coarse over fine textured material
L10 medium textured over fine textured material
L11 peat over coarse textured material
L12 peat over medium textured material
L13 peat over fine textured material
L14 gravelly medium textured material over medium textured till
L15 medium over coarse textured material
L16 gravelly coarse textured material over softrock
L18 medium textured over coarse textured material
L19 gravelly material over softrock
L20 coarse textured over medium textured material
M0 medium textured material
M1 medium textured water-laid sediments
M2 medium textured water-laid sediments
M3 medium textured water-laid sediments
M4 medium textured till
M5 medium textured softrock
M6 gravelly and stony medium textured till
P1 sphagnum peat
P2 fen peat
P3 forest peat
U0 undifferentiated material
UP undifferentiated (peat)

Table 10. Soil series codes to be described as “eroded soils”

Soil Series Code Soil Series Subgroup
ALT ALTARIO R.DB
BKE BROCKET R.DB
BPW BEARSPAW R.BL
BUR BURMIS R.BL
CLR CLARINDA R.B
DIM DIAMOND R.DB
EBO EAST BOW R.BL
EDG EDBURG GLR.BL
EORer ELNORA-ER R.BL
FLUer FALUN-ER R.DG
HCH HOUCHER R.DB
HIW HIGHWOOD R.BL
HMS HELMSDALE R.B
HPV HAPPY VALLEY R.BL
ISF INNISFAIL R.BL
MTR MONITOR R.DB
NSK NOSE.CREEK R.BL
NUT NEUTRAL R.DB
ODM OLDMAN R.BL
PME PLUME R.DB
PSO PARSONS R.BL
VEB VERBURG R.DB
VST VENDISANT R.B
WCR WOOLCHESTER R.DB
WID WILDA R.DB
WLG WELLING R.DB
WOL WOLLIM R.DB
ZER MISC.ERODED R.BL
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