Abstract: 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.
Metadata:
File identifier:
BE5C199A-C030-4108-B64E-6ED31A831A03
Language:
Language Code:
eng
Character set:
Character set code:
utf8
Hierarchy level:
Scope code:
dataset
Metadata author:
Responsible party:
Organisation name:
Agriculture and Irrigation, Government of Alberta
Position name:
Natural Resource Innovation, Natural Resource Management
Contact info:
Contact:
Phone:
Telephone:
Voice:
780-427-3739
Address:
Address:
Delivery point:
302, 7000 - 113 Street
City:
Edmonton
Administrative area:
Alberta
Postal code:
T6H 5T6
Country:
Country:
CA
Electronic mail address:
agi.soilviewer@gov.ab.ca
Hours of service:
08:15 to 16:30 Monday to Friday
Role:
Role code:
publisher
Date stamp:
2024-04-26
Metadata standard name:
NAP - Metadata
Metadata standard version:
1.2
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Vector spatial representation:
Topology level:
Topology level code:
geometryOnly
Geometric objects:
Geometric objects:
Geometric object type:
Geometric object type code:
complex
Geometric object count:
43
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Reference system:
Reference system identifier:
RS Identifier:
Code:
EPSG
Code Space:
3400
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Data identification:
Citation:
Citation:
Title:
Soil Correlation Areas (SCA) of Alberta
Date:
Date:
Date:
2016-12-01
Date type:
Date type code:
creation
Date:
Date:
Date:
2024-05-28
Date type:
Date type code:
publication
Date:
Date:
Date:
2024-04-26
Date type:
Date type code:
revision
Cited responsible party:
Responsible party:
Organisation name:
Agriculture and Irrigation, Government of Alberta
Position name:
Natural Resource Innovation, Natural Resource Management
Contact info:
Contact:
Phone:
Telephone:
Voice:
780-427-3739
Address:
Address:
Delivery point:
302, 7000 - 113 Street
City:
Edmonton
Administrative area:
Alberta
Postal code:
T6H 5T6
Country:
Country:
CA
Electronic mail address:
agi.soilviewer@gov.ab.ca
Hours of service:
08:15 to 16:30 Monday to Friday
Role:
Role code:
originator
Abstract:
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.
Purpose:
The Soil Correlation Areas (SCA) layer revised in 2016 is the companion layer for the Alberta Soil Names
Generation 4 document. Compressed keyhole mark language (KMZ) formatted files are available for each SCA
polygon of the 23 existing SCAs. Also an additional KMZ containing all 23 SCA polygons is available for
download and use in the Alberta Soil Information viewer and other GIS environments. In addition ArcGIS shape
layer is available containing all 23 polygons in one layer for use in most GIS software environments.
Previous versions of the SCA layer contained 24 polygons until a decision to amalgamate SCA 11 with SCA 10
was reached.
Credit:
Alberta Soil Inventory Subcommittee; Soil Series Working Group established in 1987 by Agriculture and
Agri-food Canada and Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development.
Status:
Progress code:
completed
Point of contact:
Responsible party:
Organisation name:
Agriculture and Irrigation, Government of Alberta
Position name:
Natural Resource Innovation, Natural Resource Management
Contact info:
Contact:
Phone:
Telephone:
Voice:
780-427-3739
Address:
Address:
Delivery point:
302, 7000 - 113 Street
City:
Edmonton
Administrative area:
Alberta
Postal code:
T6H 5T6
Country:
Country:
CA
Electronic mail address:
agi.soilviewer@gov.ab.ca
Hours of service:
08:15 to 16:30 Monday to Friday
Role:
Role code:
pointOfContact
Resource maintenance:
Maintenance information:
Maintenance and update frequency:
Maintenance frequency code:
notPlanned
Descriptive keywords:
Keywords:
Keyword:
Alberta, Canada
Type:
Keyword type code:
place
Descriptive keywords:
Keywords:
Keyword:
Soil Correlation Areas
Keyword:
SCA
Keyword:
Soil
Keyword:
Soil Names
Keyword:
Climate
Keyword:
Agroclimate
Keyword:
Ecology
Keyword:
Agricultural Soils
Keyword:
Soil Classification
Keyword:
Soil Inventories
Type:
Keyword type code:
theme
Resource constraints:
Legal constraints:
Access constraints:
Restriction code:
otherRestrictions
Other constraints:
To access the data you must agree to the terms of the Open Government Licence - Alberta found at
https://open.alberta.ca/licence
Resource constraints:
Legal constraints:
Use constraints:
Restriction code:
license
Other constraints:
Your use of this information will be governed by the terms of the Open Government Licence - Alberta, in
force as of the date you accessed the information, found at https://open.alberta.ca/licence
Resource constraints:
Legal constraints:
Use limitation:
Distribution Liability: Under the terms of the Open Government Licence - Alberta, the Information is
licensed as is, and the Information Provider excludes all representations, warranties, obligations, and
liabilities, whether express or implied, to the maximum extent permitted by law. The Information
Provider is not liable for any errors or omissions in the Information, and will not under any
circumstances be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, or other loss,
injury or damage caused by its use or otherwise arising in connection with this licence or the
Information, even if specifically advised of the possibility of such loss, injury or damage.
Resource constraints:
Security constraints:
Classification:
Classification code:
unclassified
User note:
Public/Unrestricted
Classification system:
Government of Alberta Data and Information Security Classification
Handling description:
https://imtpolicy.sp.alberta.ca/standards/Pages/Data-and-Information-Security-Classification.aspx
Aggregation Info:
AggregateInformation:
Aggregate Data Set Name:
Citation:
Title:
Alberta Soil Names File (Generation 4) User's Handbook
Date:
Date:
Date:
2016-12-01
Date type:
Date type code:
publication
Cited responsible party:
Responsible party:
Individual name:
M.D. Bock
Organisation name:
Science and Technology Branch, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Role:
Role code:
editor
Association Type:
Association type code:
crossReference
Spatial resolution:
Resolution:
Equivalent scale:
Representative fraction:
Denominator:
1000000
Language:
Language Code:
eng
Character set:
Character set code:
utf8
Topic category:
Topic category code:
geoscientificInformation
Topic category:
Topic category code:
farming
Environment description:
Microsoft Windows XP Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 3; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.3.1.3500
Extent:
Extent:
Geographic element:
Geographic bounding box:
West bound longitude:
-120
East bound longitude:
-110
South bound latitude:
49
North bound latitude:
60
Supplemental Information:
This map is best plotted between 1: 1,000,000 to 1: 3,000,000.
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Distribution:
Distribution format:
Format:
Name:
Shapefile
Version:
3.0
Specification:
SHP
File decompression technique:
ZIP
Distribution format:
Format:
Name:
Compressed Keyhole Markup Language
Version:
2.2
Specification:
KMZ
File decompression technique:
ZIP
Distributor:
Distributor:
Distributor contact:
Responsible party:
Organisation name:
Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, Government of Alberta
Position name:
Provincial Geospatial Centre
Contact info:
Contact:
Phone:
Telephone:
Voice:
7804277374
Facsimile:
7804220712
Address:
Address:
Delivery point:
14th Floor, Oxbridge Place
Delivery point:
9820 - 106 Street NW
City:
Edmonton
Administrative area:
Alberta
Postal code:
T5K 2J6
Country:
Country:
CA
Electronic mail address:
PGC.Data@gov.ab.ca
Role:
Role code:
distributor
Transfer options:
Digital transfer options:
Units of distribution:
MB
Transfer size:
1
Online:
Online Resource:
Linkage:
URL:
https://extranet.gov.ab.ca/srd/geodiscover/srd_pub/AG_FOR/SCA_v3_KMZ.zip
Protocol:
FTP
Name:
Soil Correlation Areas v3 (KMZ)
Description:
KMZ file containing Soil Correlation Areas v3 (ZIP)
Function:
Online function code:
download
Transfer options:
Digital transfer options:
Units of distribution:
MB
Transfer size:
1
Online:
Online Resource:
Linkage:
URL:
https://extranet.gov.ab.ca/srd/geodiscover/srd_pub/AG_FOR/SCA_v3_SHP.zip
Protocol:
FTP
Name:
Soil Correlation Areas v3 (SHP)
Description:
Shapefile containing Soil Correlation Areas v3 dataset (ZIP)
Function:
Online function code:
download
Transfer options:
Digital transfer options:
Units of distribution:
MB
Transfer size:
5
Online:
Online Resource:
Linkage:
URL:
https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/24e01c2f-14be-45db-be6d-c31206c30ca7/resource/37bc3ad3-8cbe-492b-9a42-7f5e84bc3b20/download/alberta-soil-names-generation-4-2017.pdf
Protocol:
HTTPS
Name:
Alberta Soil Names File (Generation 4) User's Handbook (PDF)
Description:
PDF document containing Alberta Soil Names File (Generation 4) User's Handbook
Function:
Online function code:
download
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Data quality:
Scope:
Scope:
Hierarchy level:
Scope code:
dataset
Lineage:
Lineage:
Statement:
The Alberta Soil Inventory Subcommittee established the Soil Series Working Group in 1987 to undertake the
development of a standardized soil names catalogue for use in a digital environment. Based upon the
recommendations that were submitted, the Working Group identified as necessary products a map that
defined the geographic limits of soil names within Alberta, as well as a correlated list of allowable
soil names. In 1993, the Alberta Soils Name File (Generation 2) User’s Handbook was published, including
portions of the soil names file and the initial version of the Soil Correlation Area (SCA) Map of Alberta.
The province of Alberta was divided into 24 Soil Correlation Areas (SCA’s) based on the following rationale:
1. climate affects soil properties; and,
2. many interpretative products developed by applying soil type information also incorporate climate
information.
There are situations where an ecoregion has been divided into two or more SCA’s. For example, the Moist
Mixed Grassland ecoregion is subdivided into SCA 3 and 4. In this instance, historical precedence is
established by existing published soil survey reports, overriding the ecological premise of these
recognized areas. This situation is often justified on the basis of agroclimate, and/or thickness of the
surface layer (e.g., Thin versus Thick Black).
As part of the compilation process leading to the development of the Agricultural Region of Alberta Soil
Information Database (AGRASID) in the late 1990s, the boundaries of the each SCA in the agricultural
zone were inherently linked to the 1:100K scale soil landscape polygons. Upon this closer interrogation
of the SCA boundaries, minor modifications were made to the original 1993 SCA lines. In addition to
these line changes, the decision was made to delete SCA 11 from the 1993 version of the SCA map. The
distinction between SCA 10 and 11 was difficult to implement when mapping the distribution of soil names
within these two areas. Originally SCA 10 was restricted to the Aspen Parkland ecoregion and SCA 11 to
the Boreal Transition ecoregion. Also, SCA 10 had originally been defined as an area where Black
Chernozemic soils commonly existed, while Dark Gray Chernozemic and Dark Gray Luvisolic soils were
considered to be dominant in SCA 11. However, many exceptions to this general pattern of soils
distribution within these two SCA’s existed. So much so that during the compilation of AGRASID, the
decision was made to join the two SCA’s and make a unified list of the soil names identified in each of
the two component SCA’s.
The 1998 version of the Soil Correlation Areas of Alberta map indicates areas that had previously been
identified as SCA 10 as SCA 10a and areas previously identified as SCA 11 as SCA 10b. This decision to
consider the area as a single SCA did not significantly change the agroclimatic characteristics and
corresponding interpretations of the affected soil landscape polygons. When a new version of the SCA map
was published in 2002, a single area for SCA 10 was represented on the map with no reference made to the
previous area of SCA 11. This version of the SCA Map of Alberta provided the framework for the
allocation of soils to SCA’s as presented in the Alberta Soil Names File (Generation 3) User’s Handbook,
released in 2006.
In 2016 a number of additional line changes were made to the SCA map. The modifications came about as a
result of meetings held between soil consultants working in northern Alberta and staff of Agriculture
and Agri-Food Canada, including the national soil correlation administrator for Alberta. Major changes
incorporated into the Soil Correlation Area (SCA) Map of Alberta (2016) include:
1. Enlarging the area of SCA 19 in the Birch Mountains by including the area of the McIvor Upland
previously identified as SCA 23 – Ecodistrict 605 and 606 of the National Ecological Framework. This
corresponds with an area that includes both Upper and Lower Boreal Subregions of the Natural Regions and
Subregions of Alberta.
2. Enlargement of SCA 19 south of Fort McMurray to include most of the Stoney Mountain Upland –
Ecodistrict 638 and 639. This corresponds with an area of Lower Boreal Highlands Subregion.
3. Creation of a single area of SCA 19 to include most of the Buffalo Head Hills Upland – Ecodistrict 601,
602 and 603. This corresponds with an area that includes both Upper and Lower Boreal Subregions.
4. Creation of a new area of SCA 13 to include most of the Pelican Mountains – Ecodistrict 614. This
corresponds with an area of Lower Foothills Subregion.
5. Enlargement of SCA 17 to include most of the Rainbow Lake Plain and Bassett Hills – Ecodistrict 245.
This corresponds with an area of Lower Boreal Subregion.
6. Other additional minor modifications to linework to better reflect underlying landscape and ecological
patterns as reflected on more recent imagery and data sources.
Process step:
Process step:
Description:
Attribute information was updated to include names and information from the Alberta Soil Names File
(Generation 4) User's Handbook (Dec 2016).
Date and time:
2024-04-26T00:00:00
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Maintenance information:
Maintenance and update frequency:
Maintenance frequency code:
asNeeded
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