CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
Search Results
Author : Anderson, D.
Date : 2008.
Title : A history of soil classification in Canada.
Publication : Canadian Society of Soil Science 2008 Annual Meeting: Frontiers of Soil Science. July 6 - 10, 2008. University of Northern British Columbia Prince George, British Columbia.
Issue : Program and Abstracts Volume:
Page(s) : 27.
Abstract
The origins of soil classification in Canada go back to the first soil surveys nearly a century ago. The first soil mapping in Ontario in 1914 followed a system developed in the USA and adapted to Ontario. It was based on soil colour and texture, with only nine series recognized for much of southern Ontario. Surveys using provincial classifications began in the Prairie Provinces in the 1920s. Many elements of the classifications used are evident in J.H. Ellis’ 1932 paper entitled “A Field Classification of Soils for Use in the Soil Survey”. The classification recognizes the soil zone as the highest category, consistent with early work by Ellis, A.H. Joel in Saskatchewan and F.A. Wyatt in Alberta. Subdivisions within the soil zone were the combination, association and associate, the latter similar to a soil series. Following a quiet period for pedology during the Great Depression and war years, the first meeting of the National Soil Survey Committee (NSSC) was held in Quebec in 1945. The NSSC, later the Canada SSC, brought together Canadian (provincial and federal) soil surveyors, pedology professors from the universities, and researchers in soil management. Generally there were representatives from the American soil survey community. Meetings every two to three years dealt with refinements to an emerging classification system. The 1955 meeting in Saskatoon was a milestone, in that a taxonomic system was introduced, in which higher hierarchical levels are conceptual, based on definition of a central concept. The Sub-Committee on Classification decided to continue with a Canadian system, not join the American effort that eventually led to Soil Taxonomy, although joint work is evident as both taxonomies developed. The Organic Order was added as the seventh order at the 1965 meeting at the Universite Laval, Quebec. The 1968 meeting in Edmonton resulted in a move to a more definitive system, and diagnostic horizons with defined criteria. There were major revisions to the Podzolic and Brunisolic orders, and the Luvisolic Order was added as the eighth order. “The System of Soil Classification for Canada” was published officially in 1974 as Publication 1455 of Agriculture Canada. It was a durable binder suitable for field use and able to accept later revisions. Eight orders, guidelines for describing profiles, and an interpretive classification, soil capability for agriculture, are included. A hard-cover edition entitled “The Canadian System of Soil Classification” was published by Agriculture Canada as Publ. 1646 in 1978. The Cryosolic order was included and, for the first time, a key for classifying soils. A second edition with revisions to the Gleysolic and Organic orders was published in 1987. The third edition (1998) includes a more complete key and a tenth order, the Vertisolic Order. Despite a present attitude of a job completed, it is evident that soil taxonomy in Canada is an enterprise that will continue to evolve as knowledge of our soils grows.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology