Alberta Soil Information Viewer: Accessing Soil Information

Ralph Romanchuk has a mixed farming operation north of Edmonton. He recently attended an Environmental Farm Plan Workshop, and is completing an assesment of the soil and site characteristics of his land.
.

Ralph wants to use the Soil Information Viewer to discover the following things:

What is the soil grouping and dominant soil texture?
Are there saline, organic, or solonetzic soils present?
What is the limiting slope and average slope length?

Process

Select the "Go to Online Soil Viewer" link.
Press the "Locate Township" button.
Select Township 055, Range 23, West of the 4th merdian. Press the "Locate" button.
Select the "Zoom In" tool. Drag a box around sections 11, 12, 13, and 14.
Select the "Pan" tool. Drag the north half of section 12 to the center of the mapping window.
Adjust the scale of the mapping window to 1:25,000. The scale is in the bottom left corner of the screen. You may have to adjust your screen resolution before adjusting the scale.
Click the "Find Location" button and in the successive right hand side bars:
Select the "Identify" tool. Click on the soil polygon in the section (there is only one soil polygon represented on section 12).
Ralph needs to study the definitions of the code values associated with the variables "SG" and "MAS PM". A reference for these code values can be found in Tables 4.7 and 4.10 in the Soil Inventory Project Procedures Manual.
Press the "More Info" button.

What is the soil grouping and dominant soil texture?
By referencing the tables, Ralph finds the potential soil groupings and soil textures.

The code value O.BLC corresponds to the subgroup code for Orthic Black Chernozemic on table 4.10, while in table 4.7 the code value of C3 indicates a Parent material texture of moderately coarse (Sandy Loam, Fine Sandy Loam) sediments deposited by wind or water.

The soil information viewer also indicates that two other soil groupings may be present on that section. They include Black Solodized Solonetz with a Parent material of medium textured (Loam to Clay Loam) soft rock and Eluviated Black with a Parent material of medium textured (Loam, Very Fine Sandy Loam) sediments deposited by wind and water.

Are there saline, organic, or solonetzic soils present?
There may be solonetzic soils present, as the Soil Information Viewer shows that Black Solodized Solonetz soils can be found in this soil polygon. No significant organic or saline soils are mentioned.

What is the limiting slope and average slope length?
The "Land Report" Window shows that the limiting slope is 4 per cent , and that the average slope lengths are 250 meters.

Go to Online Soil Viewer
Go to Case Studies
Go to Soil Information Viewer Home
.

The Alberta Soil Information Viewer is a collaboration between the Research Branch of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Agriculture Stewardship Division of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.

Alberta Soil Information Viewer: Accessing Soil Information

Other Documents in the Series