Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

The term "Palmer Drought Index" has been used collectively to represent multiple indices. This index is simply a water balance model which analyzes precipitation and temperature, and used as a tool to measure meteorological and hydrological drought across space and time. All versions of the...

Crop Heat Units (CHU) are calculated on a daily basis, using the maximum and minimum temperatures in order to account for a crop’s negative response to higher temperatures. The formula used to calculate the CHU value for a day is: (1.8 × (Minimum Temperature − 4.4) + 3.33 × (Maximum...

Accumulated Precipitation represents the amount of total precipitation in mm (solid and/or liquid) which has been recorded over a given period of time. Products are produced for the following timeframes: Agricultural Year, Growing Season, Winter Season, as well as rolling products for 7, 14,...

Growing degree days (GDDs) are used to estimate the growth and development of plants and insects during the growing season. Growing Degree Day are computed by subtracting a base value temperature from the mean daily temperature and are assigned a value of zero if negative. Base temperatures are a...

Mean Temperature Difference From Normal values are computed by subtracting the normal monthly average temperature from the average monthly temperature of the month. The average monthly temperature is computed by obtaining the mean value of average daily temperatures for a month. If the month was...

The “Terrestrial Ecodistricts of Canada” dataset provides representations of ecodistricts. An ecodistrict is a subdivision of an ecoregion and is characterized by distinctive assemblages of relief, landforms, geology, soil, vegetation, water bodies and fauna. For example, the Jeddore Lake...

The “Terrestrial Ecozones of Canada” dataset provides representations of ecozones. An ecozone is the top level of the four levels of ecosystems that the National Ecological Framework for Canada defines. The framework divides Canada into 15 terrestrial ecozones that define its ecological mosaic...

The Versatile Soil Moisture Budget (VSMB) is a soil water budget model that is continuous and deterministic in nature and was developed by AAFC. It is based on the premise that the water available for plant growth is gained by precipitation or irrigation, and lost through evapotranspiration and...

The National Ecological Framework for Canada provides a consistent, national spatial framework that allows various ecosystems to be described, monitored and reported on. It provides standard ecological units that allow different jurisdictions and disciplines to use common communication and...

Soil Landscapes of Canada (SLC) derived from V3.1 and V2.2 – Cartographic 1M will provide a general overview of soil landscapes in Canada at a scale of 1: 1 Million.

The Canadian major and minor crop field trial regions were developed following extensive stakeholder consultation and have been harmonized between the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) and the Environmental Protection Agency of the USA. The Canadian major and minor crop field trial...

The “Terrestrial Ecoprovinces of Canada” dataset provides representations of ecoprovinces. An ecoprovince is a subdivision of an ecozone and is characterized by major assemblages of structural or surface forms, faunal realms, and vegetation, hydrology, soil, and macro climate. For example, the...

The “Terrestrial Ecoregions of Canada” dataset provides representations of ecoregions. An ecoregion is a subdivision of an ecoprovince and is characterized by distinctive regional ecological factors, including climate, physiography, vegetation, soil, water, and fauna. For example, the Maritime...

This data series represents the volumetric soil moisture (percent saturated soil) for the surface layer (<5 cm). The data is created daily and is averaged for the ISO standard week and month. The data is produced from passive microwave satellite data collected by the Soil Moisture and Ocean...