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Land Capability Classification for Agriculture in British Columbia
by E. Kenk and I. Cotic; co-published with Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Government of BC
62 pages; black coil; catalogue #98-0019; ISBN 0-7719-9245-9; US$12.00, C$16.00, EUR10.40, £7.30
MOE MANUAL 1
Ministry of Environment Surveys and Resource Mapping Branch and Ministry of Agriculture and Food Soils Branch
Kelowna, British Columbia, April 1983
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Preface Acknowledgements and Introduction table of contents catalogue info
Preface
"Land Capability Classification for Agriculture in British Columbia" is a revision and update of previous manuals dealing with agricultural land capability classification. Its intent is to provide pedologists in British Columbia with consistent guidelines for assessing agricultural capability of land at a detailed or on-site level of investigation. The system call also be applied at smaller map scales.
The interpretive classification system groups mineral and organic soils into seven classes according to potentials and limitations for agriculture. Land capability classification indicates the type and extent of any soil and climate parameters which affect the range of crops that can be grown and/or the management inputs required.
This document is not intended to preclude other interpretations of soil and climate inventory information or further refinements of agricultural land capability classification. Examples of other interpretations or refinements include assessments of the:
a) suitability of land for production of specific crops;
b) productivity (yield per hectare) of crops on various land areas;
c) specific management inputs required to reach an acceptable level of production of a particular crop or range of crops; and
d) feasibility of implementing various land developments and improvements to achieve acceptable levels of production.
In general, under the Agricultural Land Capability Classification system, the range of suited crops decreases from class 1 to class 7 and/or the management inputs required to produce suited crops increases from class 1 to class 7. However, the combination of soils, climate, and types of agriculture in a particular area or region may make certain lower capability lands valuable for agriculture.
Some examples of this situation include:
a) acid peat soils in the Lower Fraser Valley used for cranberry and blueberry production.
b) rapidly drained, coarse textured, stony soils of the Okanagan Valley which are highly suited to tree fruit and grape production (see Chapter 10).
c) some class 5 lands in the Bulkley Nechako Regional District which are equivalent to class 3 and 4 lands as to capacity for production of cultivated forages for the beef industry in the region.
d) some lower elevation rangelands in the Central and Southern Interior which provide critical early spring and late fall grazing for the ranching industry.
e) locations for non-soil bound agriculture, such as greenhouses; poultry, swine, and beef feeding operations; and mushrooms which are in conjunction to, and comparable with, rural areas suited to crop production.
This document replaces all previous agricultural land capability classifications and describes the criteria to be used for assessing the agricultural capability of lands in British Columbia.
Acknowledgements
This publication was prepared by E. Kenk, Senior Pedologist with Ministry of Environment, Planning and Resource Management Division and I. Cotic, Soil Specialist with Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Soils Branch.
The classification system presented here draws heavily on the following three publications:
1. The Canada Land Inventory. 1965. Soil Capability Classification for Agriculture. Department of Forestry, CLI Report No. 2, Ottawa, 16 pp-
2. Runka, G. G. 1973. Methodology - Land Capability for Agriculture -
British Columbia Land Inventory. Soil Survey Division, BCDA,
Kelowna, 25 pp.
3. Leeson, B. 1969. An Organic Soil Capability Classification for Agriculture and A Study of the Organic Soils of Simcoe County. ARDA, Guelph, 82 pp.
The majority of changes incorporated in this report deal with more specific guidelines for classifying lands for agricultural capability. These changes are assembled from the experiences of staff of the Surveys and Resource Mapping Branch*, Ministry of Environment; Soils Branch, Ministry of Agriculture and Food; British Columbia Pedology Unit, Agriculture Canada and representatives of the Provincial Agricultural Land Commission.
*Formerly the Terrestrial Studies Branch
Introduction
This report, describing a classification system of land capability for agricultural use is a modification and refinement of existing small scale methodology in British Columbia. Its purpose is to provide guidelines for consistent assessment of agricultural land capability at on-site and large map scale levels of determination. The classification also can be applied at smaller map scales. An example legend recommended for use on large scale maps is given in Appendix 2.The system is to be applied consistently across the Province, except in designated areas in the Okanagan Valley and around Creston, where the Convention for Tree Fruit and Grape Production is to be applied (see Chapter l0).
Table of Contents
PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF PLATES LIST OF FIGURES CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 2. REVISIONS INTRODUCED IN THE CLASSIFICATION CHAPTER 3. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS, ASSUMPTIONS AND DEFINITIONS CHAPTER 4. LAND CAPABILITY CLASSES FOR MINERAL SOILS CHAPTER 5. LAND CAPABILITY SUBCLASSES FOR MINERAL SOILS CHAPTER 6. LAND CAPABILITY CLASSES AND SUBCLASSES FOR ORGANIC SOILS CHAPTER 7. UNIMPROVED AND IMPROVED RATINGS CHAPTER 8. MAP SYMBOL CONVENTIONS CHAPTER 9. CLIMATE 9.1 Climate Capability for Agriculture 9.2 Thermal Limitations 9.3 Moisture Limitations 9.4 Determination of Soil Moisture Deficit CHAPTER 10. MODIFIED LAND CAPABILITY CLASSIFICATION FOR TREE FRUITS AND GRAPES REFERENCES APPENDIX 1: SAMPLE CALCULATIONS OF AWSC APPENDIX 2: LEGEND FOR LAND CAPABILITY CLASSIFICATIONFOR AGRICULTURE
