Project Summary: Soils Ontario

The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Agri-Food Canada, in cooperation with the Ministry of Natural Resources, are compiling a high quality, detailed, geospatial soils database for Ontario.

The current digital soils data was automated from soil survey reports and maps that were produced over a period of decades. The Soils Ontario project has brought these county surveys together in a database which reveals inconsistencies in soil data across county boundaries. These inconsistencies are a result of variations in scale and vintage of the original soil surveys. Using GIS and NRVIS (Natural Resource Values Information System) staff are updating soil information and correlating soil polygons that cross boundaries. Scientists from OMAFRA and AAFC are working towords automated tools for solving these correlation issues and updating soil information.

The soils data will evolve to a digital database that is spatially accurate, seamless throughout Ontario, current and easily accessible in digital and paper format. The database will contain other descriptive information including slope classes, Canada Land Inventory (CLI) rankings, stoniness, drainage class, texture etc. This, and other information as part of the Soils Ontario project can be applied to:

• Source Water Protection
  
• Land use Planning
  
• Nutrient Management
  
• Soil Erosion Modelling
  
• Specialty Crop Mapping

The soils data is available through the Land Information Ontario Warehouse as a packaged product. The data will be imported into NRVIS in early 2008 as a structured product.

Canada Land Inventory

The CLI indicates the capability of the land to sustain agriculture. There are seven classes used to rate agricultural land capability. Class 1 lands have the highest and Class 7 lands the lowest capability to support agricultural land use activities. Subclasses are used to identify specific limiting factors for each class.

The Canada Land Inventory Maps are currently being edited and digitally compiled. The updates have begun in Southern Ontario and are progressing east. These are now available as either paper or digital copies of a map or the digital data (shapefiles). This information is currently available at no charge. For areas where editing and compellation have not been done, for example part of eastern Ontario and northern Ontario, continue to use the original Canada Land Inventory - Agricultural Capability Rating Maps.

For information on the status of this project and map currency, please call the OMAFRA Geomatics Unit. Visit the Geomatic Service Centre Staff for contact information or email omafra.gis@ontario.ca.

Use the NTS index to download or view the most current Canada Land Inventory pdfs.