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Soil Correlation Areas (SCA) of Alberta

Description

The SCA Map of Alberta reflects the integration of inherent agroclimatic conditions that exist across Alberta with soil development, use and management practices. The SCA boundaries coincide to a... More ≫

Description

The SCA Map of Alberta reflects the integration of inherent agroclimatic conditions that exist across Alberta with soil development, use and management practices. The SCA boundaries coincide to a large degree with recognized climate zones in Alberta. These boundaries also generally agree with accepted ecoregion boundaries. In the agricultural portion of Alberta, SCA's correlate strongly with soil zone lines with further subdivisions reflecting recognized agroclimate zones.

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Mountain Pine Beetle Inventory 2011 - Current

Description

The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, MPB) is native to western Canada. It attacks all pine including lodgepole, limber, whitebark and jack pine. Over the past 40 years the... More ≫

Description

The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, MPB) is native to western Canada. It attacks all pine including lodgepole, limber, whitebark and jack pine. Over the past 40 years the range of mountain pine beetle has expanded, possibly due to changes in the area of climatically suitable habitat. Known Limitations: The areas surveyed each year can be different and therefore year over year comparisons may be difficult. the surveyors do not do ground truthing for all disturbances identified, therefore it is not guaranteed that all of the disturbances are caused by MPB. the surveyors do not necessarily map tree patches less than three red trees and therefore the dataset may not include all MPB killed trees. 'grey' attacked trees are not captured. the surveyors attempt to distinguish between 'new' faders and 'old' faders but the accuracy of this distinction is not guaranteed and therefore the data may reflect several years and several generations of MPB attack. Beetle year is...

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Mountain Pine Beetle Inventory 1975 - 2010

Description

The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, MPB) is native to western Canada. It attacks all pine including lodgepole, limber, whitebark and jack pine. Over the past 40 years the... More ≫

Description

The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, MPB) is native to western Canada. It attacks all pine including lodgepole, limber, whitebark and jack pine. Over the past 40 years the range of mountain pine beetle has expanded, possibly due to changes in the area of climatically suitable habitat. Known Limitations: The areas surveyed each year can be different and therefore year over year comparisons may be difficult. the surveyors do not do ground truthing for all disturbances identified, therefore it is not guaranteed that all of the disturbances are caused by MPB. the surveyors do not necessarily map tree patches less than three red trees and therefore the dataset may not include all MPB killed trees. 'grey' attacked trees are not captured. the surveyors attempt to distinguish between 'new' faders and 'old' faders but the accuracy of this distinction is not guaranteed and therefore the data may reflect several years and several generations of MPB attack. Beetle year is...

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Alberta Vegetation Inventory (AVI) Crown

Description

The Alberta Vegetation Inventory (AVI) is a photo-based digital inventory developed to identify the type, extent and conditions of vegetation, where it exists and what changes are occurring. This... More ≫

Description

The Alberta Vegetation Inventory (AVI) is a photo-based digital inventory developed to identify the type, extent and conditions of vegetation, where it exists and what changes are occurring. This dataset consolidates all available AVI into a single feature class.This dataset is produced for the Government of Alberta and is available to the general public.

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Alberta Vegetation Inventory (AVI) Crown Post-Inventory Harvest Areas

Description

The purpose of this dataset is to identify areas harvested after the date of the inventory. The Forest Stewardship and Trade Branch is responsible for the creation and maintenance of these... More ≫

Description

The purpose of this dataset is to identify areas harvested after the date of the inventory. The Forest Stewardship and Trade Branch is responsible for the creation and maintenance of these boundaries for Crown-managed Forest Management Units. This dataset is produced for the Government of Alberta and is available to the general public.

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Wind Erosion Risk

Description

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... More ≫

Description

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.

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Cultivation Intensity Index 2001

Description

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... More ≫

Description

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.

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Organic Matter Content of Cultivated Soils

Description

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... More ≫

Description

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.

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Biodiversity Risk

Description

The data represents an assessment of biodiversity risk for the agricultural area of Alberta in 2002. Biodiversity risk refers to the loss of biological diversity, or the variety of plant and... More ≫

Description

The data represents an assessment of biodiversity risk for the agricultural area of Alberta in 2002. Biodiversity risk refers to the loss of biological diversity, or the variety of plant and animal life in agricultural landscapes. This map, created in ArcGIS, tries to show where biodiversity could be threatened, such as in areas with significant habitat that coincide with areas of greater agricultural economic activity. Biodiversity is believed to affect the overall health of the environment.

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Soil Groups

Description

This map displays the distribution of the main soil types found within the province of Alberta. The distribution pattern of soils in Alberta is strongly linked to climate and parent materials.... More ≫

Description

This map displays the distribution of the main soil types found within the province of Alberta. The distribution pattern of soils in Alberta is strongly linked to climate and parent materials. Climate affects the location of different soil groups. The driest area in southeastern Alberta is represented by the presence of Brown Chernozems. As one proceeds north and west, the soils and associated vegetation reflect the increase in available moisture.In Alberta, Organic soils generally occur in association with Luvisolic soils. These soils form under wet conditions where the organic layer (greater than 30% organic matter) accumulates faster than it decomposes. The organic layer varies in thickness from 40 to 160+ cm, and under natural conditions, the water table is at or near the surface. In some areas of the province, Organic soils may be artificially drained and used for agricultural production. This resource was created in 2002 using ArcGIS.

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