The Canadian Soil Data Portal - Transforming Canada's Soil Data Infrastructure to Facilitate GHG Reductions and Climate Change Mitigation

Dal Researchers are Leading National Team to Modernize Canada’s Soil Data Infrastructure

As the largest terrestrial store of carbon, soils are a critical nature-based solution for combating climate change via carbon sequestration within our soils. However, the data required to support mitigation strategies and the infrastructure to enable cost-effective monitoring, reporting, and verification of our vital soil resources—a strategic national asset—are lacking. This fact is highlighted by the recent report by the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, Critical Ground: Why Soil is Essential to Canada’s Economic, Environmental, Human, and Social Health, as part of their many recommendations to the Canadian Government.

Over the next five years, Canadians will see a complete modernization of their soil data infrastructure thanks to a $6.9-million Sustainable Agriculture Research Initiative grant, jointly awarded by the National Sciences and Engineering (NSERC) and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. This funding was announced on August 29, 2024, by Hon. Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, as part of a $87.5-million investment to support 16 projects that will enhance sustainable agriculture for Canadians.

“This historic initiative— the largest grant ever awarded to the Faculty of Agriculture—will involve a national team of researchers to oversee the delivery of the senate recommendations related to soil data, monitoring, and mapping,” explained lead researcher, Dr. Brandon Heung. He further explains that “the need for soil data is become increasingly relevant now as we are talking more about issues surrounding soil health and carbon sequestration. With soil carbon, we need a better grasp of where it is, and how much more of it we can store through improved land use and soil management”

Towards Cost-Effective Soil Survey and Analysis

To modernize Canada's soil data infrastructure, this national initiative will focus on overcoming the systemic barriers towards widespread adoption of soil surveys and resource monitoring: data fragmentation, high costs of soil analysis, and lack of baseline soil information.

“Given the size of Canada, the costs of carrying out national-scale surveys of our soil resources is economically unsustainable, so we must explore the ways to make the most out of the data we have collected in the past—representing tens of millions of taxpayer’s dollars” explains Dr. Heung. In other words, there is the need to maximize the value of our past investments in soil survey.

To address this, several key outcomes from this work will include the development of a National Soil Data Inventory, which consolidates data from partners and beyond; the filling of data gaps by using machine learning; and the development of the Canadian Soil Spectral Library to reduce the cost of soil analysis by leveraging advances in soil sensing. This massive influx of new data and future data, allows the team to develop high resolution, national maps of critical soil properties, such as soil carbon, carbon sequestration potential, and nitrogen supply—all necessary in getting a better handle of soil-based greenhouse gas emissions.

To carry out this monumental task, researchers within Dalhousie’s Centre for Sustainable Soil Management, including Drs. Gordon Price, David Burton, and Derek Lynch, will work together with fellow soil scientists from the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, University of Saskatchewan, University of Manitoba and University of Guelph. This project will also as well as bring together the research expertise and capacity from multiple provincial and federal government agencies, while actively engaging with industry and producer groups, nationally.

The Social-Economic Dimensions of Soil Data

Beyond soil science, Dalhousie researchers, Dr. Jamie Baxter (Schulich School of Law) and Dr. Stanley Asah (School for Resource and Environmental Studies) will lead a  team, delving into the social aspects of soil data sharing and governance, seeking to understand behavioural and legal motivations or barriers to data sharing—especially when much of the soil data in Canada is held by private entities (from individual farmers to large corporations). Via the legal analyses, the team will provide policy recommendations to government that facilitate data sharing.

Although this is a five-year project, Dr. Heung stresses that “we must ensure the legacy of this project and that there are financial resources available to maintain the infrastructure.” As such, the team is working with a team of economists from the University of Alberta, University of Saskatchewan, and Carleton University to carry out an economic valuation of soil data and to build an investment case for the long-term maintenance of the soil data infrastructure. Without this program, Canadians will be unable to track their progress toward achieving a net-zero economy and soil monitoring costs will remain prohibitively high and economically unsustainable.

The Canadian Digital Soil Data Portal

This collection of outcomes will form the basis of the Canadian Soil Data Portal, an online data portal, which will allow users (including farmers, foresters, students, and policy makers) to access and visualize soil data, carry out analyses, and view national-scale soil maps. The development of this infrastructure continues to be a priority of soil scientists across the country—especially those within the Canadian Digital Soil Mapping Working Group (Co-Led by Dr. Heung) of the Canadian Society of Soil Science.

“By employing a multi-disciplinary, network approach, our stellar team aims to ensure a cost-effective and data-driven approach towards employing sustainable soil management practices and for ensuring food and soil security for Canadians. The Portal will be a huge asset to us all and will provide the foundation for future innovations that are well beyond my imagination” Dr. Heung concludes.