Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, in cooperation with the Ministry of Natural Resources, have compiled a geo-spatial soils database for Southern Ontario. The database consolidated the existing digital soil data mapped on a county basis into a digitally stitched and standardized product. The soil survey data was mapped by a number of soil surveyors from the 1920s to the 1990s. The Soil Ontario product incorporates soil information from a variety of map scales. The project has brought the individual county or regional municipality surveys together in a digitally stitched database which reveals inconsistencies in soil data across county boundaries. Using GIS and NRVIS (Natural Resource Values Information System) a GIS Specialist matched the soil polygons that crossed boundaries using the best available resources.Additional Metadata Location: Agriculture and AgriFood Canada - Canada Soils Information SystemAdditional Metadata:Canadian Soil Information Service Additional DocumentationSoil Survey Complex - Data Description (PDF)Soil Survey Complex - Documentation (Word)StatusOn going: data is being continually updated Maintenance and Update Frequency As needed: data is updated as deemed necessary Contact Daniel Saurette, omafra.gis@ontario.ca

The soil complex database contains other descriptive information including slope class, Canada Land Inventory (CLI) ranking, stoniness, drainage class, texture etc. The CLI components of the data layer is generally intended to be used as a tool for broad land use planning decision making, and not necessarily for field-level management. The soil complex information can also be applied to source water protection, nutrient management and soil erosion modeling. Note: The soil complex data layer is subject to a continuous improvement strategy - data was last download August 2023.Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, in cooperation with the Ministry of Natural Resources, have compiled a geo-spatial soils database for Southern Ontario. The database consolidated the existing digital soil data mapped on a county basis into a digitally stitched and standardized product.The soil survey data was mapped by a number of soil surveyors from the 1920s to the 1990s. The Soil Ontario product incorporates soil information from a variety of map scales. The project has brought the individual county or regional municipality surveys together in a digitally stitched database which reveals inconsistencies in soil data across county boundaries. Using GIS and NRVIS (Natural Resource Values Information System) a GIS Specialist matched the soil polygons that crossed boundaries using the best available resources.